DOHA, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Pride will be the big factor in the Group B game between Wales and Iran on Friday lunchtime in the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium in Rayan, just outside of Doha.
The Welsh showed personality to fight back in the second half of their 1-1 draw against the USA after being outplayed in the first 45 minutes, while Iran needs to recover their pride after the 6-2 thrashing suffered against England, in their first group match.
The good news for Iran were the two goals scored by striker Mehdi Taremi, who scored twice on Monday, and the Porto forward will be the main threat for Iran on Friday.
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz will, however, be looking at other attack-minded players, such as Vahid Amiri and Alireza Jahanbakhsh to give him more support than against the English.
Queiroz will also have to make a tough decision over who plays in goal, with Alireza Safar Beiranvand unavailable after being taken to hospital with concussion after an early collision in the England game.
Seyed Hossein Hosseini stepped in against England but didn't have a happy time, and although none of England's six goals were directly his fault, the coach may opt to give Seyed Payam Niazmand Ghader a chance.
Wales coach Robert Page saw how introducing Kieffer Moore for Dan James at halftime against the USA helped his team get back into the match, and Moore will probably start from kick-off on Friday.
"That's the manager's decision to make," commented the 1.96m-tall Moore in a press conference on Wednesday.
"Hopefully I'm in a position to start," he said, highlighting his willingness to run, "I have that height advantage and I like to bring other people into play."
The Welsh know that a win would be a huge step towards booking a place in the knockout stages of the tournament and set them up for a "Battle of Britain" against local rivals, England in the last group match. ■
