Tuesday’s Matches: Qatar, Iran and Wales exit World Cup

This year’s FIFA World Cup tournament has come to an end for Qatar, Iran and Wales after losing their group stage matches to Netherlands, US and England respectively on Tuesday.

Qatar was the first to be eliminated after losing their first two matches in Group A. The Qataris had already failed to advance to the knockout stage after an early 3-1 loss to Senegal.

For the hosts, their campaign at the World Cup ended with a loss against Netherlands on Tuesday. Despite making their World Cup debut, Qatar are now the first World Cup hosts to lose all three group matches.

The next match saw the US defeating Iran 1-0 in their last group stage match. Iran became the second Asian country to be eliminated following Qatar’s exit.

A first half goal from Christian Pulisic gave the Americans the lead. In the 38th minute, Pulisic collided with Iran’s goalkeeper in the process of scoring the sole goal of the match and had to leave the field for several minutes but was later able to return and finish out the first half. He was replaced at halftime.

The win earned United States a seat in the round of 16. They will now take on the Netherlands on Saturday in an elimination game.

Tuesday was the first time that the United States had faced Iran in over 20 years. In 1998, Iran beat the United States 2-1 which was their first-ever World Cup victory.

Alongside the Netherlands and the United States, England also secured their knockout stage spot after beating Wales 3-0.

It was the first time British teams had met at a World Cup and saw the two sides take a knee before their match as a gesture of solidarity in the fight against discrimination.

On the field on Tuesday, England was able to outplay Wales 3-0 after a double from Marcus Rashford and a third goal from Phil Foden.

For Senegal, Kalidou Koulibaly scored the winning goal in the 2-1 victory over Ecuador on Tuesday, putting his team into the round of 16 despite the absence of the injured Sadio Mane, the team’s best player and one of the best strikers in the world.

Only a win against Ecuador would have taken Senegal through to the next round from Group A, and Koulibaly scored the goal that made it happen at Khalifa International Stadium.

Where to watch

Afghan fans need not miss out on any of the excitement of this year’s tournament which is being broadcast live and exclusively by Ariana Television in Afghanistan.

For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE