Iran beat Uruguay 1-0 on Friday and suddenly are not looking like the whipping boys in Group B which contains England, Wales and the USA.
Returning manager Carlos Queiroz — formerly Sir Alex Ferguson’s No 2 at Manchester United — has galvanised them.
Here are five players who will pose a threat when they meet England first up in Doha…
Mehdi Taremi, Forward
Iran’s biggest threat and their outstanding player.
The No 9 has consistently scored and assisted goals for the last three seasons at Porto and though he is best known for his bicycle-kick finish against Chelsea in the 2020-21 Champions League, he also brought the best out of Luis Diaz before the Colombian left Porto for Liverpool last season.