World Cup 2022: Wales fans heartbroken by Iran defeat

Wales fans person been near dejected aft World Cup optimism turned into heartbreak.

The country's archetypal World Cup for 64 years looks acceptable to extremity astatine the archetypal hurdle aft a last-gasp - but deserved - 2-0 decision against Iran successful Qatar.

Up to 6,000 Welsh fans packed the Ahmad bin Ali stadium successful Doha, treble the pre-tournament estimates.

Many thousands much watched the crippled backmost location successful pubs, instrumentality zones and schools, wherever lessons were suspended.

Children successful Wales were capable to ticker the lucifer aft the Welsh authorities told schools they could cancel lessons to amusement it.

Thousands had made the agelong travel to Qatar to ticker the 2nd crippled of Wales' instrumentality to the World Cup aft a 64-year absence.

There had been a quiescent assurance among galore earlier kick-off pursuing the second-half show against USA.

However this match, which kicked-off successful 31C (88F), looked a crippled excessively acold successful the heat, according to instrumentality David Crean, who had travelled from Cardiff with his lad Jack.

"I'm gutted. We conscionable ran retired of puff. We didn't crook up and conscionable couldn't support up with the pace," helium said.

"I conscionable anticipation England triumph contiguous [against USA]. If not, I don't truly privation america to beryllium humiliated by them."

While The Red Wall of Wales fans dominated 1 extremity of the ground, Iranian fans took implicit astir of the rest, and were large passim the game.

Mr Crean added: "It was thing wholly different. My receptor drums person gone."

Matt James, 33, from Caldicot, Monmouthshire, added: "It was an incredibly hostile atmosphere, similar an distant game. We would person taken a 0-0 but to suffer successful wounded clip similar that is gutting."

"It's a pugnacious pill to swallow, but we volition beryllium good tomorrow," said Becky Green, 48, from Llantwit Fardre, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

"After the mode we played successful the 2nd fractional against the USA, I thought we were successful with a chance. But it wasn't meant to be."

Dad Eric, 69, was besides pragmatic and said: "We person seen worse things implicit the years arsenic Wales fans.

"It's conscionable large to beryllium astatine a World Cup."