DRAGONS ARE SLAYED

Wales hopes left hanging by a thread afterDoha horror show but James insists toothless Dragons never underestimated crisis-torn Iran

DAVID McDONNELL in Doha WALES boss Rob Page admitted his players let themselves down after defeat left them staring at World Cup elimination.

Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey (left) was shown a straight red in the 86th minute for a dangerously high tackle, with Iran scoring twice in added time to seal victory. The painful loss for the Dragons means they must beat England on Tuesday to have any chance of making the last 16 on their first World Cup appearance for 64

an even game and we could have pushed for the win.

“It was even before the red card. Iran obviously got beat in the last game but they changed things up against us.”

Roared on by the fervent and largely Iranian crowd, Queiroz’s side were extremely unlucky not to score early in the second half as Sardar Azmoun and Ali Gholizadeh struck the post within the space of a few seconds.

But the Iranians eventually triumphed as Wales star duo of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey were well under par.

The display was even worse than Wales’ lacklustre first-half showing against USA in Monday’s opener, when they salvaged a draw.

But James insists Page’s men should have no trouble lifting themselves for their must-win final game against neighbours England on Tuesday, even though their odds of qualifying look extremely faint.

James, on loan at Fulham from Leeds, added: “We’re here, we’ve got one game left and we can’t go into that thinking we’ve already lost. We can pick ourselves up.

“It’s going to be a tough one for the boys to take but we’ll dust ourselves off and get ready for that one. First we’ve got to analyse this game, look at what we could’ve done better and try and take the positives out of it. Then we’ve got to go into that game with no fear. We’ve got nothing to lose.” Wales boss Page (left) conceded going for broke has cost his team, and said: “I always take responsibility, that’s my team.

“The sending off didn’t help, of course, but at that point we had five forwards on the pitch so couldn’t get a defensive shape.

“It’s a difficult changing room at the minute but we will be ready against

England. It’s a local derby and a great game to finish on and we’ll be prepared to go.”

The Dragons’ despair contrasted with the joy shown by Iran’s players and coach Queiroz, who switched from a back five to a four and saw his side comprehensively outplay Wales.

Queiroz, whose side were humiliated by England, reflected: “Sometimes you lose your dignity, you lose your honour and of course, we were bleeding in our pride. This was an opportunity to rebound and to stop the bleeding and get back to credibility.

“We showed the football we have inside our souls and our mind.”