Qatar 2022: Iran v USA – what the stats say
This is the first meeting between Iran and USA in any competition since January 2000, with the sides playing out a 1-1 draw in a friendly match in California.
Iran beat USA 2-1 in the only previous meeting between the sides at the Fifa World Cup, with that victory eliminating the United States from the 1998 edition in France.
USA have lost their third group stage match on seven of their eight participations with this format in the Fifa World Cup, with the exception being a 1-0 win over Algeria in 2010.
Following their 2-0 win over Wales on MD2, Iran are looking to win two matches in a single World Cup tournament for the first time. One of their three previous wins was against the USA in 1998.
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USA have won two of their last 14 matches at the World Cup (D6 L6), drawing their two matches at this year’s edition. They’ve never drawn three in a row at the World Cup.
Five of Iran’s last six goals at the World Cup have been scored in 90th minute stoppage time, including three of four at this year’s tournament. Two in 2022 have come after the 100th minute – Mehdi Taremi’s penalty v England (102:30) and Ramin Rezaeian v Wales (100:37).
USA drew 0-0 with England in their last World Cup game, their first ever goalless draw in the competition in their 35th match. They haven’t kept consecutive clean sheets in the World Cup since their first two matches back in 1930.
Mehdi Taremi has been directly involved in three of Iran’s four 2022 World Cup goals (2 goals, 1 assist). Taremi created eight chances against Wales, which was the most by a player in a World Cup group stage match since Tranquillo Barnetta for Switzerland against Honduras in 2010 (also 8). Taremi this year has already created the most chances by an Iran player at a single World Cup tournament (9).
Walker Zimmerman has completed 148 passes for the USA in the group stages so far, 33 more than any other American player. The only USA player to complete more in a group stage since 1966 is Claudio Reyna in 1998 (169), whose son Giovanni Reyna made his World Cup debut alongside Zimmerman in the 0-0 draw with England.
USA’s Yunus Musah turns 20 on the day of this game and could become the first American to play in the World Cup on his birthday. If he starts, he’ll also become the youngest USA player to start their first three games at a World Cup, overtaking Landon Donovan in 2002 (20 years, 102 days).