In 1998, Lyon's Stade de Gerland played host to what has since become known as the most political match in World Cup history between the United States and Iran.

Relations between the two countries had been tense for three decades at the time, and Iran players were reportedly ordered by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei not to walk towards their American counterparts during the pre-match handshakes.

Those pre-game formalities were carefully orchestrated to ensure the USA players were the ones walking during the pleasantries, but despite the political hostility, the Iranians handed white roses to their opponents as a peace offering and the two starting XIs posed for a joint photo.

The two nations will tussle for the first time in a competitive game since then on Tuesday, and despite the backdrop of civil unrest in Iran, this contest goes ahead with nowhere near the same kind of political intrigue.

Iran and the USA remain relatively hostile politically, but USA coach Gregg Berhalter was adamant that will not impact what occurs on the pitch during a game that is essentially a winner-takes-all encounter.

"I've played in three different countries, and I coached in Sweden, and the thing about soccer is you meet so many different people from all around the world, and you're united by a common love of the sport," Berhalter said.

"I envision the game being hotly contested for the fact that both teams want to advance to the next round – not because of politics or because of relations between our countries.

"We're soccer players and we're going to compete and they're going to compete and that's it."

Iran can secure their place in the last 16 with a draw, but the USA – who drew their first two matches – need to win.

The USA were eliminated by Iran as a result of a 2-1 loss in that infamous 1998 duel, which was also one of seven defeats they have suffered on matchday three on World Cup group stages.

They've only won their third group game once.

But the USA produced a positive performance during the draw with England, and Berhalter is happy his team have their destiny in their own hands.

"We win or we're out of the World Cup, and that's going to be the focus of ours in preparing the team," he added.

"Any time you're in a World Cup and you get to go into the last game controlling your destiny, that's a pretty good thing."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Iran – Sardar Azmoun

After being benched for the defeat to England, Azmoun started against Wales and carried real promise both in terms of his link-up play – their early disallowed goal was teed up by him – and his goalscoring threat.

His four shots was a team-high as was his 0.46 xG, he was just unfortunate in front of goal as he hit the post and saw a close-range header blocked by Wayne Hennessey.

Nevertheless, his performance was something of a statement after being left out on matchday one, and his pairing with Mehdi Taremi – who remarkably created eight chances last time out – will surely be key if Iran are to beat the USA.

United States – Christian Pulisic

The USA need to win, so they could do with their most-recognisable player leading by example in attack.

Pulisic had his moments against England, with his combined tally of five shots and chances created a high for his team, while he also generally worked hard, engaging in more duels (10) than any other USA player.

There's a perception Pulisic has failed to develop as many expected when he was younger, but this would be a great time to remind the doubters of his ability.

PREDICTION

According to Stats Perform's prediction model, the USA are more than twice as likely to win this game than Iran are, with their respective victory chances at 50.2 per cent and 24.1 per cent.

In fact, the supercomputer reckons a draw (25.7 per cent) is more likely than an Iran win, though crucially for Carlos Queiroz's men, a stalemate could be enough for progress as long as Wales don't beat England.

Michael Beale has been appointed as the new manager of Rangers on a three and a half year deal.

Beale replaces Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the role after the Dutch coach was sacked by the Scottish club last week.

Formerly part of Steven Gerrard's backroom staff during the Liverpool legend's time in charge at Ibrox in which they ended the club's 10-year wait for a Scottish Premiership title in 2021, Beale has returned to take on the main job, leaving his post in charge at English Championship side QPR.

The 42-year-old has previously coached at Chelsea and Liverpool's academies, as well as working in Brazil with Sao Paolo, before taking on first-team coaching roles under Gerrard at both Rangers and Aston Villa.

Beale left Villa Park to take on his first managerial role at QPR at the start of this season, where he won nine of his 21 league games in charge (D4, L8), leaving them in seventh place in the Championship.

He turned down an approach from Premier League side Wolves in October, but has accepted the challenge of taking on the reins at Rangers, who currently sit nine points behind Celtic in the league.

"It is fantastic to be back and to see everybody this morning," he said after being announced on Monday. "There are some new faces but some people that I know really well so it is great to see everyone.

"I am hugely proud, it is a wonderful, wonderful football club, it is an institution. For everyone that works here it is a huge privilege, but to be the manager of this football club, that is extremely special. Some wonderful people have sat in this chair prior to me, and I am hugely proud to be the person sat here now."

Van Bronckhorst was dismissed after a disappointing start to the campaign that included being thrashed 4-0 by Celtic in September, as well as producing the worst Champions League group-stage finish in history, losing all six games with a goal difference of -20.

Ghana head coach Otto Addo insists the Black Stars will not "seek revenge" against Uruguay when they collide in a repeat of their infamous 2010 World Cup quarter-final.

Following their narrow 3-2 win over South Korea on Monday, Addo's side will seal their last-16 place with victory over La Celeste in their final Group H match on Friday.

There will be added spice to the clash, which comes 12 years after their notorious last-eight clash in South Africa.

After Diego Forlan cancelled out Sulley Muntari's earlier strike, Luis Suarez denied Ghana an extra-time winner when he handled Dominic Adiyiah's goalbound header on the line.

Asamoah Gyan missed the subsequent spot-kick, which was wildly celebrated by the dismissed Suarez, while Uruguay eventually advanced to the semi-finals after prevailing 4-2 on penalties.

But Addo insists that painful memory will not provide extra incentive for the Black Stars, who would have become the first African nation to reach the last four at the finals.

"I'm a guy who doesn't think too much in the past when this incident happened," the coach said. "I'm a strong believer if you don’t seek revenge, you get even more blessings.

"It's a different approach, a different team. [Uruguay] have very good strikers, lots of experience. They are very compact, very good. It will be very, very difficult, again.

"We are a team that knows every game will be on the edge, we have to be at our best to beat them. But I'm confident enough to know we can win this game."

Harry Kane is fit to face Wales, but Gareth Southgate stopped short of confirming the England captain would start.

Kane sustained a foot injury in England's World Cup opener against Iran, only to recover in time to lead the Three Lions out again against the United States.

The Tottenham forward struggled to impact that goalless draw, however, and there have been calls for him to be dropped for the final group game against Wales.

England are not yet through but would have to lose by four goals at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday to fall short of the knockout stage.

Discussing his team selection, Southgate outlined the need to "balance freshness with stability".

Ahead of playing the United States, the England manager said it would be a "brave decision" not to start Kane, but he spoke with far less certainty when that quote was repeated back to him on the eve of the Wales match.

In response to that question on Kane, Southgate said: "We're going to pick a team that we believe can win the game. That's our priority always.

"[Kane] is fine in terms of the knock he's had. We keep saying it's his foot and [everyone else] keeps saying it's his ankle. It's his foot.

"He's trained well. In the whole group, it's only Ben White missing with illness.

"We've got pretty much everyone to select from, which is a great position to be in. It makes decisions difficult, of course, but you want a fully fit squad. That's where we're at."

Even if Southgate does alter his line-up, there is unlikely to be a repeat of the eight changes made between the second and third games in Russia four years ago, when England were already through.

"It's always a challenge, and of course we've got 26 players," the England boss said. "But we're at a major tournament, and it's not about giving caps out. We're here to try to go as far as we possibly can."

Southgate added Wales "seem to have additional motivation to play against England", describing it as "a great sporting rivalry, no more than that – [although] the feeling may not be mutual".

He has no issue with Wales' determination to beat their rivals, though, with Kieffer Moore having said at the start of the tournament he "cannot wait" to knock England out.

"He's entitled to say whatever he wants leading into a game," replied Southgate. "I'd be amazed if he didn't feel that way.

"We've got to just focus on what we're about, preparing for the game in our normal way. We've got to bring our quality to the game and composure and play with the tempo that makes our team really difficult to play against.

"It's pointless us focusing on what's said before the game. We've got to go on the pitch and play well."

South Korea were left bemoaning a "lack of fairness" after head coach Paulo Bento was sent off at the end of their 3-2 defeat to Ghana due to a furious reaction to his side not being allowed to take a late corner.

During a thrilling contest at Education City Stadium, Ghana found themselves 3-2 up after Mohammed Kudus' second goal of the game halted South Korea's momentum.

The Taeguk Warriors, who had previously fought back from 2-0 down thanks to a Cho Gue-sung brace, piled the pressure on at the end and got themselves a corner.

But referee Anthony Taylor blew for full-time before they could take the set-piece, sparking a frustrated reaction from Bento, whose side were left bottom of Group H with one point heading into their final game.

Bento's red card meant he was banned from taking part in the post-match media conference, but his assistant Sergio Costa was more than willing to state his boss' case.

"Totally unfair," Costa said of the situation. "In the first half they let a similar situation be played.

"The referee took that opportunity away, Paulo reacted. He said nothing that was inappropriate to the referee, but he does what he knows. I think it's a lack of fairness.

"I think the reaction is one of a person and group who feel lack of fairness at the end of the match.

"[Bento] is emotional and defends his own until the last. We are all able to understand his reaction.

"That sometimes leads to reactions that are part of what a human being is made of. It was normal of someone who did everything for the win.

"I believe we should feel sad, feel a lack of justice at the end, but also be proud. We gave our souls and that's something we'll try to repeat."

While Bento's absence for South Korea's crucial final group match – which they need to win – against Portugal is far from ideal, Costa suggested the situation will boost the team's unity.

"We shall continue to prepare in same way as other matches - our strategy will not fail," Costa added. "He won't be present on the matchday, which is a loss because Paulo is obviously a great manager, but I think it will bring us together."

Kudus proved decisive for Ghana after also impressing against Portugal on matchday one, with his brace on Monday making him the second-youngest African player ever to score twice in a World Cup game.

Ghana coach Otto Addo seemed reluctant to lavish Kudus with praise before the game, but he was more forthcoming afterwards and reserved a special mention for the Right To Dream academy, where the Ajax midfielder honed his skills as a youngster before making the most of their link-up with Denmark's Nordsjaelland.

Addo said: "He's a good character, like everyone else. He's a good player who is good one-on-one; he's fast and has very good game intelligence.

"He has to work more defensively, for sure, but he's on the right track to be a great player. I just have high praise for him.

"I've known him for six or seven years, from the time I was working as an assistant at Nordsjaelland, where we have a cooperation with the Right to Dream academy, so also congratulations to them, for this really, really good education.

"Players like him and Kamaldeen [Sulemana] are extraordinary on and off the pitch. They are good guys, good characters. Congratulations to [Right to Dream] for creating such a player."

Kaka believes Brazil can "still perform very well" at the 2022 World Cup, despite the injured Neymar's absence.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar limped off in the 80th minute of Brazil's 2-0 win over Serbia, having been subjected to nine fouls – more than any other player during the opening round of group games in Qatar.

The 30-year-old suffered what has been described as a lateral ligament injury to his right ankle, while he shared an update on his official Instagram account on Saturday, including photos of his heavily swollen foot.

Kaka was part of a heavily fancied Brazil side at the 2006 World Cup. But despite also boasting the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Adriano, the Selecao failed to live up to expectations and bowed out in the quarter-finals following a 1-0 defeat by France.

But 16 years on, the former Milan and Real Madrid midfielder is confident his nation have the credentials to go far, even with Neymar on the sidelines.

"I think now, what we can see from [Brazil], is they have a very strong group," he said. "Of course, Neymar is the cherry on the cake, but they still have a very strong group.

"In the World Cup, you need a strong group - you don't need some [individual] players, you need a very strong group. And in my opinion, this is why Brazil can still perform very well."

Since making his World Cup debut against Croatia in 2014, Neymar has featured in 11 of Brazil's 13 matches at the finals. The Selecao's only defeat with him in the side came in the 2018 quarter-final loss to Belgium.

Without him, Brazil lost both matches when he was absent eight years ago after sustaining a horrific back injury against Colombia; suffering a 7-1 semi-final humiliation against Germany, before going down 3-0 to the Netherlands in the third-place play-off.

Gareth Bale does not believe he has any added responsibility on his shoulders ahead of Wales' showdown with England, who Rob Page has described as a "beatable" opponent.

Wales face an early exit from their first World Cup since 1958 as they require victory against England and for the United States and Iran to draw in Tuesday's other Group B match.

The Dragons, who followed up a 1-1 draw against the USA with a 2-0 loss to Iran, will also advance to the knockout stage with an improbable 4-0 victory over their fierce rivals.

Bale played a major role in Wales ending their long wait to play on the world stage, as he did in their successful campaigns in qualifying for Euro 2016 and Euro 2020.

Ahead of what could be his final appearance for Wales at a tournament, though, the Los Angeles FC forward is hoping to respond to the Iran loss with a result against England.

"We're disappointed in the results and performance so far but that's football," he said at Monday's pre-match news conference. "This is a World Cup and it's not easy. 

"We'll always give 100 per cent and we want to try to make things better. The last few days we've been working hard and hopefully things turn around for us now.

"We were hurting after the Iran game and the next day. Everyone was really quiet but we have characters in the squad and the energy is high again.

"We're in good spirits for this next match. This is tournament football and we have to go again."

Bale scored his side's only goal of Qatar 2022 so far, a late penalty against the USA, but he has had the fewest touches of the ball of any Wales player in both matches.

The 33-year-old has managed only two shots, one of those being his spot-kick effort, but he insists his nation's hopes against England do not rest solely on him.

"I don't feel an added responsibility. We're a team and nation who work hard for each other and we must deliver as a team, not one person," he said. 

"We've been working hard these last couple days. We would have loved to have been winning but the reality is football is hard, but we've been keeping our spirits high."

Wales have never previously failed to win a single match at any of their major tournament participations, but they have a poor record against neighbours England down the years.

Indeed, Wales have lost each of their past six games against England, conceding 11 goals and scoring just once – a Bale free-kick in a 2-1 defeat in the Euro 2016 group stage.

However, in a game Wales simply must win if they are to have any hope of prolonging their stay in Qatar, manager Page is optimistic his side can end that terrible run.

"This tournament has shown anyone's beatable – of course England are beatable," Page said. "They’ve got a wonderful pool of players, but we must show what we're capable of."

Echoing the views of his manager, Bale said: "Absolutely. We've done our homework and had meetings, which I'm sure they've also done. It's going to be a difficult game.

"We know England are one of the favourites and we're under no illusions. There's been a few shocks already and there's no reason we can't do the same."

Wales enter Tuesday's game winless in seven matches, which is their worst run without victory since between May 2003 and November 2003.

Gregg Berhalter apologised for US Soccer posting an altered Iran flag on social media but insisted he and the United States team knew nothing of it in a tense World Cup pre-match news conference.

The Group B meeting of the USMNT and Iran was always likely to be politically charged given the friction between the two countries.

In an early answer at his media briefing on Monday, Berhalter sought to head off such questions, saying: "When I think about this match, I know a lot of other constituents have a lot of feelings towards it.

"For us, it's a soccer game against a good team. It's not much more than that. It's a knockout game, both teams are desperate to go to the next round. That's how we're looking at this match."

But that did little to quell the line of questioning, which was not helped by a Twitter post on Sunday.

US Soccer uploaded an edited Iran flag without the emblem of the Islamic Republic in a move to support protestors in the country, where there has been unrest since the September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody after being arrested for her refusal to wear the mandatory hijab.

That post prompted outrage in Iran, including state-affiliated media Tasnim calling for the United States to be removed from the World Cup.

Tyler Adams, who was corrected on his pronunciation of "Iran", said the USMNT "support Iran's people and Iran's team" but are "laser-focused on this match".

Berhalter expanded more on the topic, replying initially: "We had no idea about what US Soccer put out, the staff, the players had no idea. Our focus is on this match.

"I don't want to sound aloof or not caring in saying that, but the guys have worked really hard for the past four years.

"We have 72 hours between England and Iran, and we really are just focused on how to get past Iran and go to the knockout stage of this tournament.

"Of course our thoughts are with the Iranian people, the whole country, the whole team, everyone, but our focus is on this match."

When Berhalter was asked again about the Twitter post, he said: "I can only reiterate that the players and the staff knew nothing about what was being posted. Sometimes things are out of our control.

"We believe it'll be a match where the result depends on who puts more effort on, who executes better on the field, not what happens outside.

"We can only apologise on behalf of the players and the staff. It's not something we're a part of."

Former USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann had not helped matters when he accused Iran of having "worked the referee" against Wales, suggesting getting to the match officials and pushing the boundaries of acceptability was "part of their culture".

Iran boss Carlos Queiroz responded in a series of Twitter posts, calling for Klinsmann to be sacked from a role with FIFA, but he would not answer questions on the matter at his own news conference.

Berhalter added little, saying: "I'm up here to discuss the game USA-Iran, not Jurgen Klinsmann.

"You're talking about a guy who's up on the TV. If you want a comment on what he said and how he said it, you should ask Jurgen."

But it was not only questions from Iranian reporters that caused Berhalter some discomfort, with US media relaying Eric Wynalda's claim the coach had asked Gio Reyna to lie about an injury to explain his absence from the USMNT's first match.

"Speaking of a four-year journey, there's been also four years of interacting with you guys," Berhalter said. "I'll leave it to you to decide if I asked Gio to lie about it.

"That's just not who I am, that's not what I represent. If you have to take Eric's word or my word or whatever, feel free. I know what happened. That's not what I represent.

"Like every other person, Gio's a member of this team we care deeply for, and we know he can help the team. It's a matter of when he can help us and how he can help us."

The Dallas Mavericks are set to sign four-time NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, according to reports.

The Mavericks have struggled of late, losing their last four as they sit on 9-10 for the season, and they apparently intend to do something to arrest that slide.

The Athletic's Shams Charania reports that Dallas plan to waive Facundo Campazzo in order to make room for experienced guard Walker, who himself was waived by the Detroit Pistons last month.

Walker has suffered from injuries in recent years, but the Mavs appear to be willing to take a chance to help out star man Luka Doncic, who in spite of his team's struggles is leading the league on points per game this season, averaging 33.1 from his 18 appearances.

Walker will hope to rediscover the form he showed in his last few seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, having been limited during his time at the Boston Celtics, while he only made 37 appearances for the New York Knicks last year.

His average of 11.6 points per game was the worst of his career so far, though he also averaged fewer than 26 minutes per game for the Knicks, before being briefly traded to the Detroit Pistons.

This was not the way Qatar will have wanted their home tournament to go.

With almost 12 years to prepare, the Maroons tried to put themselves in a position to be an inspirational underdog at their World Cup.

That has not proven to be the case, with defeats against Ecuador and Senegal seeing them become the first host nation ever to be eliminated after two games.

Qatar still have one more to go, though, and arguably the most glamorous one as they prepare to take on the Netherlands in their final outing.

Felix Sanchez's men will not just want to claim a morale-boosting big scalp to go out on a high, but will also be keen to avoid defeat as no host nation have ever lost as many as three matches at a World Cup.

The Netherlands topped the group after matchday two, but only just, after a fairly uninspiring 1-1 draw against Ecuador that kept them above La Tri on goal difference, and a point ahead of third-placed Senegal.

Louis van Gaal's side will go through if they avoid defeat on Tuesday, and have history on their side as only in 1978 (v Scotland) have the Netherlands lost their final group match at the World Cup (excluding second group phases), winning four and drawing three.

The experienced coach has acknowledged his team are yet to get going in Qatar, saying on Friday: "If we want to become world champions, we need to improve a lot, because the quality of the opponents we have yet to face is at a much higher level."

A 2-0 win against Senegal in their opener felt somewhat fortunate, while they had to rely on the woodwork to prevent Ecuador from coming back from a goal down to beat them.

While Qatar are not one of those higher-quality opponents Van Gaal will have been referring to, the Dutch will need to ensure they are on their game at Al Bayt Stadium.

Speaking after defeat to Senegal on Friday, Sanchez said: "We intend to be competitive [against the Netherlands]. We cannot miss a chance like this to play against the Netherlands, so our plan, the goal is to play a good game."

They could gain hope from the fact that the host country have won their final group match in five of the last six World Cups (including both Japan and South Korea as joint-hosts in 2002), with Russia losing 3-0 to Uruguay in 2018 in the other.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Netherlands – Cody Gakpo

The Dutch have struggled to create so far, having just four shots on target across their first two games, though three of those have ended up in the net. Since 1966, the fewest total shots on target from the Netherlands in a group stage at the World Cup is 10 in 1990.

Gakpo has been a shining light, though, having been directly involved in at least one goal in his last five appearances for the Netherlands in all competitions (four goals, one assist). For club and country in all competitions this season, Gakpo has been involved in 34 goals in 28 appearances, scoring 16 goals and assisting a further 18.

The 23-year-old has put his country 1-0 up in both games in Qatar so far, and only three players have ever scored in three consecutive World Cup appearances for the Dutch; Johan Neeskens (1974), Dennis Bergkamp (1994) and Wesley Sneijder (2010).

Qatar – Boualem Khoukhi

While they will want to put on a show for their fans as they bow out of the tournament, Qatar will surely spend the majority of the game defending.

Khoukhi put in some shift to try and keep Senegal out, even if it ended up in vain, with his nine clearances being seven more than any other Qatari player, while he also had more touches (83) and passes attempted (64) than any of his team-mates.

Qatar have conceded five goals so far, with no host nation ever conceding more in a single group stage, with South Africa also conceding five in 2010.

PREDICTION

According to Stats Perform's prediction model, this will be a straightforward win for the Netherlands, having been given an 82.9 per cent chance of taking all three points.

The supercomputer has assigned an 11.5 per cent chance of a draw, while what would be a famous victory for Qatar has just a 5.6 per cent chance of happening.