football | Thursday, November 24, 2022 1:31 PM (Revised at: Friday, November 25, 2022 2:15 PM)

Wales vs Iran Bet Builder Tips: 10.50 Builder for Crucial Group A Clash

Jack Wright

Wales vs Iran Bet Builder: Friday, November, 25th

The opening round of games is now complete in the 2022 World Cup and I have pored over the stats to bring you my Wales vs Iran bet builder tips. The Ahmad bin Ali Stadium Stadium plays host as the Dragons take on Team Melli in a game that kicks off the second round of group-stage fixtures.

In this article:

Wales vs Iran Preview
Wales vs Iran Stats & Facts
Wales vs Iran Bet Builder

Wales vs Iran Preview

World Cup Group A, Friday, November 25th, 10:00 (UK)

It would appear Rob Page earned his wage at half-time in his side’s tournament opener against the USA. Wales hung on in there during a first half that saw them dominated by their much sharper opponents. I’m sure the man from the Rhondda Valley would have been pleased to get to the break trailing only to Timothy Weah’s strike.

Second-half goalscoring hero Gareth Bale revealed the players “were torn up by the gaffer” at the break after a miserable opening 45 minutes. That team talk clearly did the trick as the Dragons were a completely different outfit after the restart. Bale won and dispatched the penalty which earned a share of the spoils.

For Iran, their campaign couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start. Firstly, goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was substituted for a concussion after a horrible collision with his own defender. Carlos Queiroz’s side looked nervous and tentative from the first whistle and were dismantled by an admittedly impressive England display.

The 6-2 defeat not only sees them as the only side in the group without a point but also up against it with such a poor goal difference. The veteran manager will expect to see his side give a much better account of themselves here and show Monday’s performance to be a blip. Displaying the form that has seen Team Melli win 12 of their last 15 competitive fixtures.

Wales vs Iran Stats & Facts

This is just the second meeting between Wales and Iran, with the Red Dragons winning the other in April 1978
Iran have never beaten a European opponent at the World Cup in nine previous attempts (D2 L7), conceding 20 goals across those games,
Carlos Queiroz has only won two of his 11 matches at the World Cup (D4 L5) across spells with Portugal and Iran. His teams had only conceded seven goals in his first 10 games before Iran’s 6-2 defeat to England.
10 of Wales’ 14 goals at their last three major tournaments (European Championships and World Cup) have seen at least one of Gareth Bale or Aaron Ramsey involved as the goalscorer or assist provider.

Wales vs Iran Bet Builder

Following the results from MD1 this game is vitally important. A win for the Welsh would see them take a huge stride towards qualification. While failure to do so would mean that they need to pick up a positive result from MD3 against England. Iran would be eliminated from the competition with defeat coupled with a win for the Three Lions in Al Khor.

Three points, of course, would see them right back in the mix. Calling the result though is too tough. Having seen two completely different halves of football from Wales, it depends which version will turn up here. While surely Iran can’t perform as badly again. Or are the troubles back home impacting the players’ performances on the pitch? Instead of picking a winner, I am looking at two of the Irani players to form a builder at odds of 10.50.

Mehdi Taremi became the first-ever Iranian player to score more than once at the
World Cup with his brace against England on MD1. Indeed, Taremi was also the first
player from an Asian country to net two goals in a World Cup game. The Porto man now has 15 goals in 20 appearances for club and country this season.

While it is tempting to put forward the 30-year-old to hit the back of the net again, the foundation of this builder is a much safer option. Taremi to have two or more shots. He has had 38 in the Portuguese top flight this season from his 13 appearances having an attempt at goal every 28 minutes. Only failing to have at least two shots once across those games. Five Champions League ties have seen similar output with 18 shots taking at least two in all. He also had three attempts at goal on MD1 against the English.

Playing the safer option for the first leg has allowed me to pursue an angle that has been highlighted to me. Namely the attention Dan James, Gareth Bale and Neco Williams receive. Their style of play certainly lends itself to opponents mistiming tackles or having to resort to a shirt pull or a tactical foul to prevent a breakaway.

Sadegh Moharrami is the man who will likely be tasked with keeping at least one of those quiet. The 26-year-old attempted three tackles against England and also committed two fouls escaping caution. It was interesting to note five fouls tight to the USA right touchline throughout the game against Wales on Monday.

Moharrami plays his club football for Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia and has only picked up one yellow card in 13 league outings this season. But my interest spiked when looking through the data for his Champions League action. Ten appearances in this term’s competition has seen him collect five yellow cards. While in 12 World Cup Qualifiers he was shown three yellow cards and was sent off in the fixture against the United Arab Emirates. Odds of 7.00 are far too generous for the right back to be carded.