A superb second-half performance from Morocco secured a famous 2-0 World Cup victory against Belgium at Al Thumama Stadium on Sunday.
Victory for Roberto Martinez's side would have seen the 2018 semi-finalists become the second side to book their spot in the knockout stage, alongside France, but the Red Devils fell short.
Having seen a first-half free-kick from Hakim Ziyech disallowed, the same tactic provided dividends in the second period as Abdelhamid Sabiri put Morocco on course for just a third win in their World Cup history.
The win was then secured in the final minutes of the game, Zakaria Aboukhlal smashing home from close range after Ziyech's fine work.
Belgium saw the majority of possession early on and dictated play, Michy Batshuayi forcing an early save from Munir Mohamedi, who came into the side as a very late change for Yassine Bounou.
Having been on the back foot for the majority, Morocco thought they had scored on the brink of half-time as Ziyech's free-kick found its way into the net, but Romain Saiss was offside and adjudged to have blocked Thibaut Courtois' line of sight.
Lightning struck twice for Martinez's side after the break, as Sabiri whipped in a dangerous free-kick to the near post which found its way past Courtois and, while Saiss was again in the proximity, there was no offside flag to save Belgium this time.
Any hope of a late fightback from Belgium was wiped away in added time, Ziyech winning the ball off a poor touch from Axel Witsel and teeing up for Aboukhlal to smash home.
Cristiano Ronaldo has the personality to handle any pressure that comes with being Portugal's leading man, says Fernando Santos.
Ronaldo, the record goalscorer in the history of international football, came into the World Cup with his future uncertain, after an inflammatory interview with Piers Morgan.
The 37-year-old has since left Manchester United and is playing as a free agent for the first time in his career.
Ronaldo scored Portugal's opener in their 3-2 win over Ghana on Thursday, becoming the first male player to score at five separate World Cup finals in the process.
And Santos shrugged off the suggestion Portugal place too much pressure on their captain's shoulders.
"We have players that are more visible than others and they need to deal with that, with the high priority and pressure," Santos said in a press conference ahead of Portugal's second Group H game against Uruguay.
"They express themselves in one particular way. There are players who are more extroverted, those more introverted, the most important thing is they play as a group, play together as one team.
"As far as Cristiano is concerned, I've known him for many years, since he was 19, we have other players that share the same personality.
"Little by little he has gained more experience, and understands this pressure, but we also take into account other players, not only Cristiano Ronaldo."
Another experienced campaigner in Santos' squad is Ronaldo's former Real Madrid club-mate Pepe, with the 39-year-old centre-back potentially in line to feature against Uruguay after Danilo suffered an injury to his ribs in the win over Ghana.
"He's a monster, Pepe is a monster," Santos said of the defender. "Someone who has a huge role, there's no doubt."
Ronaldo started with Joao Felix in a front two against Ghana, though Santos also has Milan star Rafael Leao, who scored with his first touch after coming on a substitute, to call on.
Asked if he would consider starting the trio together, Santos replied: "Of course it's possible, we did not come here with labels of one, two or three starters.
"We will line them up according to our needs, I'm serious about it. We have choices, and no player will be excluded, but we should not address this with an individual perspective, but as a collective.
"That's what we did against Ghana. In the first half we played very well, Ghana could not enter our area. In the last 30 minutes we should have been more aggressive because I know my players are capable. We were perhaps overconfident, but we can be confident if we are more aggressive.
"Our advantage is that we have a plethora of players that we can use. Our players are free to play, the only thing that I ask them is to follow my instructions. We will not hold our players on a tight leash – we let them free."
Luis Fernando Suarez is relieved his Costa Rica team can "still dream" after they sealed a vital 1-0 win against Japan at the World Cup on Sunday.
Coming off the back of a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain in their opening game, Keysher Fuller's 81st-minute strike against the run of play at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium handed Costa Rica a win that gives them a chance of advancing to the knockout stage in Qatar.
Los Ticos became the first team to concede seven goals in a game and then win their next match at the World Cup since Paraguay in 1958 (lost 7-3 to France, won 3-2 against Scotland).
Head coach Suarez said he did not want to discuss "tactics or technical aspects" of the win as he praised his team at his post-match press conference.
"I believe the main thing was our ability to do such amazing things," he said. "I'm not going to talk about tactical or technical aspects, today I need to value and appreciate what they have done to get this result.
"We had to face many challenges but we firmly believed and wanted to be 100 per cent committed for our country to play well against a strong opponent like Japan.
"We are alive [in the group], that is the main thing and no-one can forget about us yet. We can still dream."
Fuller was the hero, with his goal the only shot Costa Rica have had on target in the tournament so far, and the 28-year-old added: "The main thing was to keep ourselves alive and to win, and we managed to do so.
"We were in pain after the Spain defeat, but now we took a weight off our shoulders. We are a group that wants to achieve great things."
Japan struggled to reproduce the form that saw them shock Germany in their opening game in Qatar, but the Samurai Blue still dominated large parts of the game, having 13 shots to Costa Rica's four and recording an expected goals (xG) rate of 0.8 to their opponents' 0.1.
Head coach Hajime Moriyasu was left disappointed but stated in his press conference that his team will go into their final Group E clash against Spain with confidence.
"It wasn't a bad match," he insisted. "In the second half we were trying to control the game and if we could have had total control, we would have won, but it didn't happen.
"We beat Germany but that does not mean we will beat Spain. Both countries are World Cup winners, we have a lot of respect for them.
"The Spain match will be tough but I think there is a good chance for us to win, so we have to prepare and go with confidence."
Unity will likely be key if Ghana are to avoid an early elimination from the World Cup, though that is seemingly an area upcoming opponents South Korea are aiming to exploit.
The Black Stars put up a good fight as they lost 3-2 to Portugal, almost rescuing a commendable point only to see Inaki Williams slip at the vital moment after stealing the ball off goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
As such, defeat at Education City on Monday will see Ghana exit at the group stage in consecutive appearances at the World Cup (also in 2014) after reaching the knockout rounds in both of their first two (2006 and 2010).
But Ghana coach Otto Addo retains a positive outlook.
Granted, his optimism is based partly on Portugal doing Ghana a favour against Uruguay, but Addo sees a real possibility of the Black Stars sitting second in Group H heading into the final game of the first stage.
Asked if he was confident Ghana could still reach the last 16, Addo said: "First of all, certainly, we have a chance, especially because [South Korea and Uruguay] played a draw.
"If we win against South Korea and Portugal wins, hopefully, against Uruguay, then we will be second, so the chance is still great.
"For sure, it will be very, very tough to beat South Korea because they are good, but now we have to win. We are under pressure, but they are too."
Ghana have not won any of their past five World Cup matches but they rarely fail to score, having netted at least once in six successive games at the tournament – Nigeria (eight) are the only African team to better that streak.
With that in mind, South Korea will probably need to improve on their run of not scoring in three of their past five World Cup outings if they are to prevail on Monday.
On top of that, they have failed to get a single shot on target in two of their most recent four fixtures at the tournament, and that includes the stalemate with Uruguay when they looked somewhat toothless.
However, Paulo Bento's men seem to feel there will be an element of Ghana not helping themselves.
Midfielder Jeong Woo-yeong said: "They are a fast team, but if we can take advantage of space behind their defence, I think we should have some opportunities.
"They didn't seem to have such great team work. We played well in our first match and we'll try to build on that against Ghana."
Fellow midfielder Song Min-kyu did not question Ghana's work ethic, though he picked up on a similar theme with regards to exploiting the Black Star's backline.
"They have some speedy and physical players with good skills. We know we have to be prepared against them.
"But we also saw that they had some holes behind their defense, and we should try to exploit that extra space."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
South Korea – Lee Kang-in
Son Heung-min is, of course, South Korea's star. He will undoubtedly be expected to lead from the front, but he was ineffective against Portugal, managing just a single shot.
Lee had some bright moments off the bench and ended up recording two key passes, a figure bettered by none of his team-mates. It is unclear if he will come into the starting XI, but he certainly has the ability to influence proceedings off the bench.
Ghana – Thomas Partey
Arsenal midfielder Partey showed how important he is to Ghana in the defeat to Portugal. Perhaps not known as a creator, he laid on two chances to team-mates in that game, a joint-high for Addo's side.
But on top of that, he had the most touches (68), successful passes (47) and tackles (four) in the Ghana team. If they do beat South Korea, he will surely have played a vital role.
PREDICTION
With a 40.9 per cent chance of winning, South Korea go into this as the favourites according to Stats Perform data. However, the win probability calculator suggests it could be a very tight affair.
The likelihood of a Ghana win sits at 31.3 per cent, meaning they have every right to feel they can leave with the three points – though a draw looks almost as likely (27.8 per cent).
Tite conceded he made a mistake in not realising earlier that Neymar had sustained an ankle injury in Brazil's World Cup win over Serbia.
Neymar hobbled off in the 80th minute of the Selecao's 2-0 win on Thursday, having suffered what has been described as a lateral ligament injury to his right ankle.
The Paris Saint-Germain star shared an update on his official Instagram account on Saturday, including photos of his heavily swollen foot.
Tite said in his post-match press conference that he was confident Neymar, as well as Danilo, who also suffered an injury against Serbia, would still be able to feature in Qatar.
However, at his pre-match media conference ahead of Brazil's second Group G game, against Switzerland, Tite said he could have handled his star man better.
"I made a mistake," he said. "I did not realise and I want to publicly acknowledge this.
"He was injured, I didn't see that he had an injury, we didn't get that information.
"He tried to continue to play until he told us he was feeling his ankle, because right then he had the ability to try to push with the team, he participated in the goals.
"I hadn't seen he had an injury, it was 10 minutes and it was not malicious, it was accidental."
Neymar was fouled nine times against Serbia and has been the subject of heavy treatment during his previous two World Cup appearances.
Across the 2014 and 2018 World Cups combined, Neymar was fouled a leading 44 times – or once every 21 minutes, more often than any other player impeded on at least 25 occasions.
"If we want to celebrate the football we have to pay attention to the fouls, because they focus on specific players," Tite said. "This is a fact and it has to be stopped."
Tite remains, however, confident that Neymar and Danilo will both return before Brazil's campaign in Qatar is over.
"That's my opinion," he said. "Medically I am not in a position to speak but I do have the medical reports.
"I can continue to say that not only about Neymar but also about Danilo. Both situations have changed, but we do believe both will be available to play.
"We have to live day by day, deal with the possibilities. We have 26 players who have to be fit and in great shape, that's how we've been working. It shows why team spirit is important."
When it was put to him that even without Neymar Brazil remain favourites to win the World Cup, Tite replied: "Neymar is an extraordinary talent, but we are also relying on our other players as well.
"What I think about major talents is that they are players who do everything well and maybe in three opportunities they get them. Creativity is not constant.
"This talent comes up only two, three times in a match and Neymar has that ability.
"There are other players. An assist from Vinicius [Junior], or creativity when finishing a play from Richarlison, a header from Pedro, a chance for Gabriel Jesus, Raphinha… they have this ability."
Jurgen Klinsmann intends to speak to Carlos Queiroz to "calm things down" after the Iran head coach reacted furiously to analysis of their 2-0 World Cup win against Wales.
In his punditry role with the BBC, Klinsmann accused Iran of having "worked the referee", suggesting getting to the match officials and pushing the boundaries of acceptability was "part of their culture".
Queiroz reacted furiously in a series of posts on Twitter, labelling the comments "a disgrace" as he demanded Klinsmann resign from his position in FIFA's technical study group.
Responding on Sunday, Klinsmann expressed belief his comments were not taken in the way he intended and described Iran's style of play as "admirable".
"There was stuff really taken out of context. I will try to give him a call and calm things down," he told the BBC.
"I have never criticised Carlos or the Iranian bench. Some even thought I was criticising the referee because he didn't do anything about the way they were behaving on the bench.
"All I described was their emotional way of doing things, which is actually admirable in a certain way.
"The whole bench lives the game. They're jumping up and down and Carlos is a very emotional coach, he's constantly on the sidelines trying to give his players all his energy and direction."
Iran's win over Wales gives Queiroz's side very real hope of advancing past the first round of the World Cup for the first time in their history.
A win against the United States would mark the first time they have won more than one match in a single tournament.
Marquinhos believes the strength of Brazil's squad will allow them to stay at "this level" even as Neymar misses Monday's game against Switzerland through injury.
Brazil impressed in beating Serbia 2-0 in their World Cup opener, but they lost Neymar to an ankle injury following a brutal 80 minutes in which he was fouled nine times.
While the Paris Saint-Germain forward has not been ruled out of the remainder of the tournament, he will not feature in the Selecao's next match.
An injury to Neymar in the 2014 World Cup was followed by Brazil losing 7-1 to Germany, but Marquinhos believes this team – the tournament favourites – can cope with his absence.
"[We are] 100 per cent confident," the defender said.
"We wish we could have Neymar playing with us, we would love to have 26 players fully available, but we are ready and confident we will be able to show our group is strong, well trained, and ready for any difficulties we might face.
"Injuries happen, we must all be aware of these possibilities. We must be wise enough to see everybody has an important role to play, the importance of the ones who were not starting and came in.
"Now we have injuries, it's important that the ones who replace them are ready for the moment so we can play our best. I believe taking into account this talent, we'll be able to keep this level."
Asked how Neymar was feeling, Marquinhos added: "We took some time to digest the situation.
"Right after the game, he was sad. I think that's normal, because he dreamt so much about the World Cup and now he's suffered an injury. As a player, we all understand what he's going through.
"Today, after the tests, the training, the treatment, he's going through physio 24 hours a day, working very hard. It shows how much he wants to be fit and ready.
"We don't know how long it will take. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope he will be fit physically and emotionally very soon."
Marquinhos was also asked about Lionel Messi, another Paris Saint-Germain team-mate, who scored a vital goal for Argentina to keep their World Cup dream alive in what appears likely to be his last finals.
The Albiceleste are Brazil's bitter rivals, but Marquinhos said: "These players... Messi is not just an Argentina player, Cristiano [Ronaldo] not only a Portugal player – they are more than that.
"They are a privilege to football, for all football lovers, so everyone who wants football to evolve and loves football knows how precious they are.
"They do not belong only to their countries. All of us, we enjoy their presence and to see them playing.
"I have played with Messi, Neymar, other great players, and I benefit from their presence. We should all enjoy their presence as much as we can.
"But life goes on, and we know that other generations will come, new great players will come. We have to enjoy the great football as much as we can, keep looking for new players – that's what football is about. Other great players had important moments."
Costa Rica produced a late smash and grab to beat Japan 1-0 on Sunday, giving themselves and Germany a potential route back into the World Cup in the process.
A listless contest that looked set to become the sixth stalemate of the tournament so far finally produced something of note when Keysher Fuller curled a shot into the top-left corner with nine minutes remaining.
Japan had largely been the better side, particularly in the second half, but Costa Rica took the lead with their first shot on target of the tournament.
The result leaves both teams on three points heading into the final games, with Germany now in with a chance of progressing to the knockout stage with a win against Costa Rica in their final game whatever their result against Spain later on Sunday.
The only real moment of note in a tentative first half came when Ritsu Doan fizzed a low ball across the six-yard box from the right, but there were no Japan players on hand to get on the end of it.
Takuma Asano came on at half-time and the change nearly yielded an immediate impact as his touch to Hidemasa Morita 25 seconds into the second period led to the latter having the first shot on target of the contest, with Keylor Navas diving to his left to palm it away.
Japan showed more intent to go and win the game in the second half, with Yuki Soma first cutting inside from the left and firing high and wide, before putting a free-kick from the edge of the box over the bar.
The surprise moment came in the 81st minute though as a poor Japan clearance saw the ball come to Yeltsin Tejeda, who played in Fuller to shoot, with Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda getting stuck under the ball and failing to keep it out.
Ghana coach Otto Addo always anticipated Son Heung-min would go on to have a great career, as he hailed the South Korea captain's character and discipline.
Korea face Ghana in their second World Cup Group H match on Monday.
While Korea drew 0-0 with Uruguay, in a game that saw only one shot on target, Ghana lost 3-2 to Portugal in a thriller at Stadium 974.
Son recovered from an eye injury to feature in Korea's opening game in Qatar, though the Tottenham forward is having to wear a protective facemask.
And Addo, who worked with Son during his stint as a coach of Hamburg's youth team between 2009 and 2015, said he identified the attacker's potential early on.
"We will try to stop every attacker. We did it well against Portugal, mostly," Addo said in a press conference on Sunday.
"Son is a very good player, operates between the lines and has a very good shot. I had the pleasure to have him [when I was] under-19 coach at Hamburg.
"Very good character, he's hard working, I really like his character, he is very, very disciplined, he became so good because he worked so hard for it.
"This is what I hope for him, and expected. You can't predict everything, especially in youth players but I saw something in him, so I proposed him to the first team squad.
"For sure, he did well there and has had a great career. I always wish him all the best, except for tomorrow.
"I am happy for him that he's healthy again, or that he can play at least. We will stop him together as a team. This is what we tried to do against Portugal. It’s always about closing gaps, closing spaces and we do that together as a team."
Defeat at Education City Stadium would condemn Ghana to an early exit, though a victory might lift them as high as second in the group by the end of the day, depending on the outcome of Portugal's meeting with Uruguay.
Korea would move top of Group H with a win, and coach Paulo Bento is confident Son, who had just one attempt in the draw with Uruguay, will be fully firing.
"Because he was recently injured and he was also adapting, trying to get used to wearing the mask," Bento said of Son's performance against Uruguay.
"He needed to feel at ease with his team-mates and the opponents. From his viewpoint, I think the second game will be different, he's been able to play 90 minutes."
Phil Foden is "the best footballer England have", according to former Three Lions captain Wayne Rooney, who suggests the Manchester City star must be played at the World Cup going forward.
The playmaker was an unused substitute during Friday's 0-0 draw with the United States, as Gareth Southgate's side missed the chance to seal top spot in Group B and progress to the knockout rounds.
Having been overlooked to start in both of their matches so far, Foden was forced to watch from the sidelines as his side laboured to a point, prompting criticism from former England players Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville.
Now Rooney, the Three Lions' all-time record goalscorer, has added his voice to the chorus of dissent over the 22-year-old's exclusion from a crucial encounter.
"I found it very strange that Foden did not come on as a substitute against the USA," he wrote in his column for The Times. "Technically, he is the best footballer England have.
"I think if you have a talent like Foden, you simply have to play him. He is now a different player from the one we saw at Euro 2020, when he struggled to make an impact.
"He is more mature and came into this tournament on the back of a long period of brilliant performances for Manchester City.
"He has the form to go with the ability. If I were him, I would be very frustrated that I didn't get on the pitch at any stage of Friday’s game."
In a lacklustre performance without the energy and verve of their opening 6-2 win over Iran, England were kept out of danger at the back by another strong showing from Harry Maguire.
Manchester United's club captain has been mostly overlooked at club level this season, but Rooney was effusive in his praise for the centre-back, who recovered from illness to feature against the United States.
"[Maguire] was England's standout player on Friday," he added. "He had an excellent game against Iran.
"[He is] showing the quality on the ball, sound defending and unmistakable threat at set pieces. That makes him so important to the team."
England play their final Group B game against Wales on Tuesday, with Southgate's side looking to secure top spot ahead of the knockout rounds.
Sporting director Stevan Stojanovic was frustrated by Serbia's lack of belief in their defeat to Brazil, but has backed them to bounce back against Cameroon.
Two second-half goals from Richarlison saw Brazil run out 2-0 winners in their World Cup Group G opener on Thursday with Serbia producing an uncharacteristically passive performance.
They have the chance to kick-start their campaign when they meet a Cameroon side smarting from a 1-0 defeat to Switzerland, and Stojanovic is demanding a more assertive display.
He told the Informer newspaper: "We analysed the game against Brazil and I think we respected them too much. It's okay to respect Brazil, you should, but it's not good to underestimate yourself.
"It seems to me that we surrendered at half-time. It was as if the players in the dressing room thought that they could do nothing against such a strong Brazil, so they immediately counted on having two more games in which we should look to qualify."
Cameroon will pose a different type of threat although Stojanovic was not overly impressed after watching their game against the Swiss, adding: "African teams are unpredictable, including Cameroon. They have a couple of fast players, they need to be paid attention to.
"Cameroon threatened in the first half, had two or three chances, but it was as if they did not know how to take those opportunities. I wouldn't say they were selfish, but rash. They have some wild cards and you can see that no match here at the World Cup is easy, but we know our quality."
If Serbia were disappointing in their opening display, the same can be said of Cameroon who were sunk by Breel Embolo's close-range goal.
The Indomitable Lions were hit by more bad news on Friday after it emerged midfielder Olivier Ntcham, who missed the Switzerland game, will also sit out their remaining two group games through injury.
Coach Rigobert Song was heavily criticised in the aftermath of Thursday's encounter but is remaining optimistic.
"There is no question, everything is still possible and we have not given up hope," he said. "But we know we are no longer able to make mistakes.
"We will play an all-out game without hesitation. I think the game against Serbia will be different."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Serbia - Dusan Vlahovic
Reduced to a substitute's role against Brazil with coach Dragan Stojkovic adopting a more cautious approach, Juventus forward Vlahovic is likely to start against Cameroon with Serbia needing to win.
Vlahovic has been a rare bright spark for Juve this season, scoring six goals in 10 Serie A appearances, and will form a physical strikeforce with Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Cameroon - Bryan Mbeumo
Cameroon will be hoping for more from Bryan Mbeumo. The Brentford attacker was a peripheral figure against Switzerland, contributing just one shot on target and three touches inside the opposition box.
This would be the ideal moment for Mbeumo to score his first international goal, as Cameroon are averaging just 0.8 goals per game at the World Cup (18 goals in 24 games), the lowest ratio of any nation to play at least 20 games in the tournament.
PREDICTION
Serbia possess the greater attacking threat with the likes of Mitrovic, Vlahovic and Dusan Tadic, so they are fancied to win this one and get their qualification hopes back on track.
Stats Perform's AI model gives them a 56.3 per cent chance of emerging victorious with Cameroon's hopes rated at just 19.5 per cent. A draw comes in at 24.2 per cent, although that result would not really help either side.
Luke Shaw says England are extra motivated heading into their World Cup clash with Wales after their opponents wildly celebrated the Three Lions' exit from Euro 2016.
An infamous video circulated following England's embarrassing last-16 defeat to Iceland six and a half years ago showing Wales' players lapping up their fierce rivals' demise.
Wales surpassed expectations by making it to the semi-finals of that competition, despite losing to England in the group stage, but they have had less success at Qatar 2022.
The Dragons require a victory against England at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium if they are to avoid a group-stage exit and must hope the United States and Iran play out a draw elsewhere.
A four-goal win for Wales against their neighbours on Tuesday would also be enough, but they have not so much as avoided defeated against England in their past six meetings.
Shaw, who played a full part in England's 6-2 win over Iran and goalless draw with the USA, believes the scenes from 2016 will add more spice to an already feisty fixture.
"I think you could say that," Shaw said. "But our motivation in itself has to be at its highest level. We are at the World Cup. We have great aims for what we want to achieve.
"We have to have the maximum motivation at every game. I don't think there's any more motivation than what we have already.
"It wasn't nice. I don't want to dwell too much on that. I want to focus on what we do on the pitch. We can say things in interviews and I'd rather do our talking on the pitch."
Asked if England's players would consider recording similar scenes of celebrating should they knock out Wales, Shaw said: "I think we are a respectful group.
"We do things in the right way. That's the example Gareth [Southgate] wants to set. We are fully behind that. We are fully respectful.
"I think their motivation is going to be extremely high. They are going to give everything to win. It's not an easy game. But we need to focus on what we do."
England will advance to the knockout stage if they avoid a heavy loss to Wales, though Southgate's side will be targeting a victory to make certain of top spot in Group B.
Speaking ahead of England's first ever World Cup match against a fellow British side, Southgate said: "We have got to play well.
"We are going to play an opponent that is wounded and, like everybody else, desperate to beat the English. We've got to play an intelligent game, play well and match their spirit.
"I would be very disappointed if someone says their players will want it more than ours. I'd be asking questions about what we stand for and what we have been for five years."
England have lost their third and final group-stage game in just two of their 14 participations at the World Cup (W7 D5), doing so against Spain in 1950 and Belgium in 2018.
Carlos Queiroz has demanded Jurgen Klinsmann resign from his FIFA position after making a string of accusations about Iran's World Cup team, labelling the German's comments "a disgrace".
Iran head coach Queiroz reacted after his team were accused by Klinsmann of having "worked the referee" during the 2-0 win against Wales on Friday.
Working as a BBC pundit, Klinsmann suggested Iran getting to the match officials and pushing the boundaries of acceptability was "part of their culture".
In response, Queiroz suggested California-based Klinsmann's "outrageous remarks" stemmed from his "American/German" background.
He said Klinsmann should visit Iran's training camp to learn more about the team, but must step down from FIFA's World Cup technical study group beforehand.
Prompted about the conduct of Iran's players in the Wales game just staying on the right side of the game's laws, Klinsmann said: "That's their culture, that's their way of doing it, and that's why Carlos Queiroz, he fits really well the Iranian national team.
"He struggled in South America and failed with Colombia to qualify, and then he failed with Egypt to qualify as well, and he went back right before the World Cup and guided Iran, where he worked already for a long, long time.
"This is not by coincidence. This is just part of their culture, that's how they play it. They worked the referee. You saw the bench, always jumping up and always working the linesman and fourth referee on the sidelines, they are constantly in their ear.
"This is their culture; they make you lose your focus, make you lose your concentration and what's important to you."
Klinsmann said there could have been a "big difference with another referee" and added: "Let's say it did not play into the hands of Wales."
Queiroz responded on Saturday with a string of withering Twitter messages aimed at Klinsmann, who was a 1990 World Cup winner as a player with West Germany and later coach of Germany and the United States.
Queiroz began by saying: "Even not knowing me personally, you question my character with a typical prejudiced judgement of superiority.
"No matter how much I can respect what you did inside the pitch, those remarks about Iran culture, Iran national team and my players are a disgrace to football. Nobody can hurt our integrity if it is not at our level, of course.
"Even saying so, we would like to invite you as our guest, to come to our national team camp, socialise with Iran players and learn from them about the country, the people of Iran, the poets and art, the algebra, all the millennial Persian culture…
"And also listen from our players how much they love and respect football. As American/German, we understand your no support. No problem. And despite your outrageous remarks on BBC trying to undermine our efforts, sacrifices and skills, we promise you that we will not produce any judgements regarding your culture, roots and background and that you will always be welcome to our family.
"At the same time, we just want to follow with full attention what will be the decision of FIFA regarding your position as a member of Qatar 2022 technical study group.
"Because, obviously, we expect you to resign before you visit our camp."
This is former Manchester United assistant boss Queiroz's third consecutive World Cup as Iran boss. His short spells with Colombia and Egypt followed the 2018 tournament, with Queiroz leading Egypt to this year's Africa Cup of Nations final.
They were defeated in that game on penalties by Senegal, and Egypt also lost by the same method to the same opposition in a World Cup play-off, with Queiroz departing and returning to the helm with Iran in September.
Barcelona boss Xavi has revealed he was offered a role as part of Brazil's backroom team ahead of the World Cup, but turned it down to hold out for the top job with the Blaugrana.
The former Spain international succeeded Ronald Koeman last year in charge at Camp Nou, and has helped to revive fortunes at the Catalan side since his arrival.
Though his team have slipped into the Europa League for a second season running, they remain competitive in the domestic top-flight, sitting two points ahead of rivals Real Madrid at the World Cup break.
Xavi has revealed he was approached by Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Rogerio Caboclo over a role with the Selecao during his time in charge at Al Sadd, but that he turned them down to hold out for Barca.
"It was an opportunity [that came] through the president of the CBF," Xavi told ESPN.
"They [came] to Qatar, and they talked to me, [and asked if] I could be part of Tite's staff.
"But I wanted to be a coach, not an assistant. My desire was to be a coach.
"It would be a tremendous opportunity - it was [a chance] to make history, to be the first European to work in the Brazilian national team.
"But, at that moment, it did not happen. I was clear that I wanted to be coach of Barcelona, which was my dream, and here I am."
However, Xavi teased he would not rule out taking up the chance if it was offered again, adding: "You never know. It would be a spectacular opportunity.
"But my intention was to take over Barcelona. You never know about the future [though]. I'm working hard, and you can't rule anything out."
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