The second round of World Cup group games begins on Friday; Wales face Iran in Group B at 10am; hosts Qatar then take on Senegal in their Group A clash at 1pm; the Netherlands take on Ecuador at 4pm; England round off the day's play when they face the USA at 7pm
Friday 25 November 2022 16:41, UK
England and Wales are back in World Cup action on Friday as the teams in Groups A and B play their second matches of the tournament.
Rob Page's Wales side kick-off early on, taking on Iran at 10am and looking to build on a well-earned 1-1 draw against the USA on Monday.
Gareth Southgate's England kick-off as the last game of the day at 7pm, facing an impressive USA side but buoyed from their 6-2 thrashing of Iran.
In Group A, hosts Qatar take on Senegal - looking for their first points of the competition - while Louis van Gaal's Netherlands face Ecuador, with the sides joint-top of the group after winning 2-0 in their opening games.
England are currently top of Group B on three points having beaten Iran 6-2 on matchday one.
However, Carlos Quieroz's side are now second in the group and level on points with Gareth Southgate's team after beating Wales 2-0 in their second Group B game.
If England secure another three points against USA, they will qualify for the round of 16 and would remain in top spot.
But going through as group winners would go down to the final game as Iran could still mathematically finish above England with another win over USA, although it would take a sizeable goal difference swing.
Head-to-head record is the third tie-breaking method at this tournament, after goal difference and then goals scored
Sky Sports' Peter Smith:
Iran were expected to provide England with a far sterner test than they managed on Monday but their striker Mehdi Taremi showed his threat with an impressive performance, given the circumstances of that 6-2 defeat.
He showed his instinctive one-touch finishing ability with the first goal and his composure to put away the penalty deep into stoppage time in the second half for his second.
He led the attacking metrics for his side and despite Iran having just 22 per cent of possession in the match the stats show they managed to find him quickly when they did win the ball back. Iran are likely to have more possession against Wales but expect them to look for him at every opportunity.
And there's good reason for that. Taremi has five goals in five Champions League appearances this season and with 16 goal involvements in his last 13 matches for club and country he's bang in form.
His stats for Porto this season illustrate how dangerous he is in the box - whether shooting himself or setting up a team-mate, with six goals and five assists to his name this term in the league. He may lose more aerial duels than he wins but he adds so much to the Portuguese side's frontline - and has become a standout striker in Europe.
He has some story, too. Taremi was a late developer. He's 30-years-old now but it wasn't until he was 22 that he played in Iran's top flight and he didn't make it to Europe until he was 27.
In between there was a spell in Qatar, so he knows the environment of this World Cup well, but his 62 goals in 115 games for Porto - including the 20 he hit in the league during their double-winning season in 2021/22 - show this is a player who has well and truly arrived now.
Is there another step up in his career to come? The discussion about him could well ramp up in January but for now his focus is on extending his record of 30 goals in 61 Iran appearances against Wales…
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse has total trust in goalkeeper Edouard Mendy despite his rocky start to the World Cup campaign.
Mendy was arguably at fault for both goals in his side's opening 2-0 loss to the Netherlands, continuing a difficult spell for the goalkeeper. He has found himself on the bench for periods at Chelsea this season, with Kepa Arrizabalaga preferred under new manager Graham Potter.
"Edouard is doing very well, he has got a steely resolve," Cisse told reporters on Thursday.
"Edouard's qualities speak for themselves, I don't think that anyone is doubting him, sometimes he has highs, sometimes he has lows, he has my full trust, my blind trust, and that of his team-mates. Tomorrow, he will be on the pitch."
Senegal centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, who is also Mendy's team-mate at Chelsea, said people were over-reacting about the 'keeper's form.
"We play at the same club and we are also brothers in arms for Senegal, Edouard is a very important player for us, it is normal to go through difficult phases - I think we are making a mountain out of a molehill here," he said.
Qatar want to prove they can compete at the highest level when they face Senegal, says coach Felix Sanchez.
The Asian champions hope to avoid becoming the fourth hosts eliminated in the first round at the finals after Switzerland, Chile and South Africa in 1954, 1962 and 2010 respectively. Qatar lost 2-0 to Ecuador in the opening game of the tournament.
"Hopefully we can play freely and without pressure and be better than what happened in the first game, this team have a point to prove," Sanchez said.
"Matches are controlled by many factors, but the most important thing is to give our best, in the World Cup if you don't give your best you will be punished.
"Emotionally, things were very difficult [for the opening game] and dealing with the World Cup is completely different. I hope that the performance will be as competitive against Senegal.
"We did not provide the joy to the fans, but we tried to avoid a negative vibe in the past days."
England captain Harry Kane has been given the all clear to face the United States in England's World Cup Group B clash in Al Khor on Friday after shaking off an ankle knock, manager Gareth Southgate confirmed.
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand has been stood down under concussion protocols following his clash of heads with team-mate Majid Hosseini in Monday's match.
Beiranvand required treatment for several minutes after the incident and still looked unwell when he returned to his feet yet, remarkably, he was briefly allowed to play on. He is set to be replaced by Hossein Hosseini, who came on as a sub in Iran's defeat to England.
Queiroz said: "Day by day, test by test, everything is moving alright and we are happy with that situation but, due to the fact that he was involved in an incident that is related to concussion, there is a medical protocol that we need to respect. There is no way to move around the protocol. He will not play, but he will be ready for the last game."
Ecuador are awaiting further tests on veteran striker Enner Valencia before deciding whether he is fit enough to start against the Netherlands.
The 33-year-old scored both goals in Ecuador's opening 2-0 win against Qatar and is pivotal to their World Cup hopes, but he limped off late in that game with a knee strain.
"The tests showed that he doesn't have an injury but the trauma is very serious. We'll have a look at him this afternoon [Thursday] and decide," Ecuador head coach Gustavo Alfaro told reporters.
"I said the other day that not even fire could stop Enner. If it's up to him, he will play. Let's give it the benefit of the doubt and hope he responds well in this afternoon's training."
