Qatar is knocked out of the World Cup, while England is made to wait

Qatar was knocked out of the World Cup for the second time in a row on Friday, while an underwhelming England missed out on a place in the last 16 after a 0-0 stalemate with the United States.

Qatar was knocked out of the World Cup for the second time in a row on Friday, while an underwhelming England missed out on a place in the last 16 after a 0-0 stalemate with the United States. Qatar was eliminated from the World Cup after losing 3-1 to Senegal, after the Netherlands and Ecuador drew 1-1 in the other Group A game. Asian champions Qatar had high expectations going into the tournament, however they became only the second host side to exit in the group stage, following South Africa in 2010.

Senegal won the match with to goals from Boulaye Dia, Famara Diedhiou, and Bamba Dieng.
In a terribly dismal start on football's grandest stage, Mohammed Muntari scored Qatar's sole World Cup goal thus far. It is the first time a World Cup host country has been eliminated after only two games.

"We want to apologise to the fans and the country," said Qatar defender Tarek Salman, who came on as a second-half replacement.

"We made them feel horrible about losing two World Cup games in a row."

The Netherlands gained an early lead against Ecuador thanks to Cody Gakpo's second goal of the tournament, but Ecuador responded with a tournament-leading third goal from captain Enner Valencia.

The Netherlands, who have four points, will qualify for the last 16 if they draw their last encounter against Qatar.

Senegal must defeat Ecuador in order to move to the knockout stage.

After thrashing Iran 6-2 in their first encounter, England had a lacklustre performance against the USA and were booed out at the end.

With a win, Gareth Southgate's side would have been sure to move from Group B, but they seldom troubled a tenacious US squad.

"A draw isn't the end of the world; it puts us in a good position in the group," England captain Harry Kane remarked.

"After our initial performance, everyone expected we'd just annihilate every team we played, but that's not the case."

To progress, England simply has to avoid a four-goal defeat against neighbouring Wales on Tuesday, and a win will put them through as group champions.

It's too late, emotional Iran.

Earlier, Iran stunned Wales 2-0 in stoppage time to inject new life into a World Cup campaign overshadowed by massive anti-government protests back home.

The Iranian players sung the national anthem before their triumph over Wales, after remaining silent in their opener in Qatar in an apparent show of solidarity with the protesters.

They were deserving winners against a squad that was reduced to 10 men late in the game.

Iran, who would have been eliminated had they lost, punished Gareth Bale's Wales in the eighth minute of injury time with a goal from substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi.

Ramin Rezaeian's second goal on the counter-attack enthralled the Iranians' thousands of fans at Doha's Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

There were emotional scenes on the pitch as Iran's players and staff, notably Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, hugged and received applause from their fans.

The team's standout scorer, Mehdi Taremi, paid gratitude to Iranian supporters.

"Thank you to our supporters; they helped us all the time," Taremi remarked after being tackled by Wayne Hennessey as he charged out of his goal.

Hennessey was sent out in the 86th minute, becoming the World Cup's first red card.

"We need those followers to back us like always," Taremi continued, whose team would advance to the final 16 if they defeat the United States on Tuesday.

- Neymar will be out of the next game.

Brazil's team camp stated that superstar striker Neymar would miss the squad's next game against Switzerland due to ankle ligament injuries sustained in the team's first 2-0 triumph against Serbia.

"Today is one of the most tough days of my career... and yet again at a World Cup," Neymar captioned a photo on Instagram.

"I have an injury that will irritate and hurt me, but I'm convinced I'll be able to return because I'm going to do everything I can to serve my nation, my teammates, and myself."

According to a report in Brazil's Globo Esporte, Neymar may also miss Brazil's last group game against Cameroon.