Iran v USA: Win or bust for Americans

Iran v USA betting tips, predictions and odds

The United States and Iran both have realistic hopes of reaching the last 16 ahead of what promises to be a thrilling final round of matches in Group B.

Victory for either side will see them go through while a draw for Iran will also be enough assuming Wales do not beat England.

Tuesday’s match at the Al Thumama Stadium kicks off at 7pm and is live on the BBC.

Advantage Iran after late show

Iran hold the upper hand heading into their final game thanks to Friday’s 2-0 win against Wales as they bounced back in style from their drubbing by England.

The two goals they managed against England hinted at what they are capable of and they were then the better team against Wales.

They were helped by a late red card for Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey but took full advantage as substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Rezaeian Ramin struck in stoppage time to secure only Iran’s third World Cup victory and one they fully merited.

The USA have drawn both of their games, having to settle for a 1-1 draw with Wales despite taking a first-half lead and then holding England to a goalless stalemate.

They must now find more of a cutting edge in their final game and USA winning odds of 10/11 seem too short.

Looking at the Iran v USA odds, 23/10 for Iran to get the draw they need appears a better option while 8/1 for a goalless draw is an alternative for punters seeking a bigger price.

Americans still have hopes

USA threatened to cause an upset against England and went closest to scoring when Christian Pulisic rattled the crossbar in the first half.

Scoring goals looks their biggest issue, though, and boss Gregg Berhalter said after the England game: “A disciplined performance by the group. The final product could still be better.

“Overall, pleased with the performance of the group and most importantly the belief because that never wavered.

“In the end it sets up our first knockout game of the World Cup basically. We win or we’re out of the World Cup.”

All eyes on Tuesday. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/8bCHlUdmRv

— U.S. Men's National Soccer Team (@USMNT) November 25, 2022

There is no love lost between these two nations and qualifying at the expense of the Americans would be the icing on the cake for Iran.

They triumphed 2-1 when the teams met at the 1998 World Cup while a friendly in 2000 ended in a 1-1 draw.

There are just four places separating the two teams in the world rankings so the value looks to be with Iran to qualify in the World Cup Group B betting, given both teams are the same price at 10/11 to progress.

In the #YourCall market, we like 15/8 for Iran to avoid defeat, under 0.5 goals in the first half and under 3.5 total goals for our Iran v USA betting tips.

View the latest World Cup odds

All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication