Your latest World Cup headlines on Tuesday, November 22.
USA players hurt after conceding
Gregg Berhalter revealed the USA's dressing room was crushed following their late equaliser against Wales.
The Americans dominated the first-half of the contest between the sides at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and led through Tim Weah's 36th minute strike.
However, Rob Page's men significantly improved in the second-half and earned themselves a point in the Group B contest of Gareth Bale's penalty in the 82nd minute. And USA boss Berhalter says Wales' direct play after the restart caused them no end of problems.
"Walking into the locker room after the game you could see the disappointment in the group," he said. "But I'm proud of the effort of the guys, they looked like a mature group out there.
"I think we got hurt by some direct play from Wales and we fell short of the victory. It became problematic for us in the second half, they pinned us back. Wales didn't create that many chances, but they made it difficult for us to come out."
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Page responds to rainbow merchandise issue
Rob Page admits it was a "shame" that fans had rainbow-themed clothing confiscated as they entered Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium for Wales' World Cup opener against the USA.
Rainbow versions of the nation's iconic bucket hats have been made to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. However, The Rainbow Wall group highlighted major concerns among fans who were being told to remove the rainbow hats.
Posting a photo of the hat on Twitter, the group wrote: "Our rainbow bucket hat. We are so proud of them, BUT news on the ground tonight is our welsh female supporters wearing them in Qatar are having them taken off them. Not the men, just women. @FIFAcom ARE YOU SERIOUS !! #LGBTQRights #WeBelong #NoPrideWithoutAll."
They later added: "We have an update that in the end the rainbow hats had been taken from the men also but it didn’t start out that way. A reminder to our Red Wall out in Qatar please stay safe. We can not trust FIFA at all and nothing they have said has been true.
"This World Cup is a shambles. BUT, we love our Cymru we want our team to win and do well. FIFA your disgusting behaviour will not shake our Welsh pride."
And speaking after his side's 1-1 draw with the USA, Page commented: "I wasn't aware of that at all. It's a shame, isn't it? We've all got our thoughts on it, but it's a shame that they wouldn't allow them to bring them in."
Empty seats at World Cup matches
Significant numbers of empty seats could be seen at two of Monday's World Cup matches in Qatar.
The chief executive of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 said the country was "gripped by football fever" following Sunday's opening ceremony but around a third of seats appeared unoccupied throughout Senegal's match against the Netherlands at Al Thumama Stadium.
FIFA did not immediately know why this was the case, but it is understood problems with the ticketing app which affected England fans gaining entry to the match against Iran also occurred at the Senegal-Netherlands match.
At the England match at the Khalifa Stadium, thousands of empty seats could be seen at kick-off but the venue did gradually fill up.
The official attendance of 41,721 for the Senegal match raised eyebrows as well, with the venue listed as having a 40,000 capacity in the official pre-tournament media guide.
However, the final capacity during event mode is higher for each of the eight stadia - with Al Thumama now able to hold 44,400 according to FIFA. However, that still did not explain the empty seats which could be seen.
There was similar confusion on Sunday night when the official attendance at Al Bayt Stadium was over 67,000, with the media guide stating capacity was 60,000.
That stadium in Al Khor was virtually empty by full-time as hosts Qatar succumbed to a 2-0 defeat to Ecuador.
FIFA says almost three million tickets have been sold for the finals altogether.
Iran better prepared for Wales after England thumping
Carlos Queiroz believes Iran are better prepared to beat Wales having been thrashed by England in their World Cup opener.
The Iranians stood firm up until 10 minutes before half-time but collapsed and trailed 3-0 at the break. They went on to lose 6-2 to Gareth Southgate's side, meaning they already have a goal difference of -4 with just one game played.
Nevertheless, former Manchester United assistant boss Queiroz - who is in his second stint in charge of Iran - is confident that his troops can learn from their rude awakening against the Three Lions.
"My view is simple and very pragmatic: the game finished in the first half when we conceded the goals that usually the Iran national team is not used to conceding," Queiroz said. "Being 3-0 down, the only goal for our team was to enjoy the game and be part of one moment that we should keep brave, united, fighting and try to play our football in moments England allow us to do that.
"The beginning was clear, the difference between high-level competitive football, between players that are competing every week. Every single week. And our players that unfortunately don't have the same experience.
"But what I can say as a conclusion is we win or learn. We had the privilege to learn a lot of things today with the English team and we are much better prepared now to play against Wales."
Wales face Iran on Friday. Kick-off is at 10am.
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