Chris Sutton blasts Robbie Savage for his ‘it’s only Iran’ jibe after Wales defeat

Robbie Savage has been ridiculed for claiming he ‘could still play against Iran and win’ after Wales were roundly beaten by Carlos Quieroz’s side on Friday.  

Speaking on BBC radio in the lead-up to the game, Savage was heard saying that ‘it’s only Iran’, confident that Wales would suffer little resistance in getting the win they needed to keep hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive. 

‘Iran were terrible, terrible, and you think Wales will finish bottom?’ Savage asked co-host Chris Sutton on Monday night’s 606. 

‘I could still play against Iran now and win a game of football,’ he added. ‘Iran are that bad I think Wales and USA will beat Iran.’

He continued: ‘I’ve watched all the TV coverage, Iran were useless. Macclesfield [the non-league team Savage owns] would beat Iran.’ 

Sutton warned against pre-match arrogance and it has proven to be a wise warning as Iran dominated the early kick-off in Group B and ran out 2-0 winners against 10-man Wales.

Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was shown a straight red before stoppage time goals from Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian.

Iran produced a stunning late show with two stoppage time goals to defeat Wales in Qatar

Defeat leaves Wales staring at the prospect of World Cup elimination with one game remaining

Chris Sutton recalled a jibe from Robbie Savage that has now come back to haunt the pundit

‘”It’s only Iran” @RobbieSavage8 said the other night,’ Sutton tweeted. 

‘So disrespectful. Iran deserved this by far the better team. Wales have been schooled. Well played Iran.’

‘Looking forward to 606 tonight,’ Savage wrote in reply, with a Welsh flag and a sad face emoji.

The result leaves Wales bottom of Group B and staring a group stage elimination in the face, with just one game remaining, against group leaders England. 

‘We are gutted, there is no other way to say it,’ a deflated Gareth Bale told the BBC.

‘We fought until the last second and we need to go again. We are all gutted but we have to pick ourselves up straight away.’

Savage was widely ridiculed by listeners for his remarks on Iran and he will be grilled on Friday

It was a disaster of a display for Wales, with goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey shown a red card

Wales now need to beat England in their final game to have any chance of reaching the last-16

Asked if hopes of the knockout stages are now all but over, Bale conceded they have a mountain to climb to get there now. 

‘It is going to be difficult for us for sure. We will have to see,’ he added.

‘What can I say? We recover and we have to go again.’

For as deflated as Bale and Wales’ players are after that result, it is a momentous one for Iran and gives them real hope of now reaching the last-16.

The result gives Iran a genuine shot at reaching the last-16, with their final match against USA

‘This is just the beginning, but we need to finish the job,’ victorious boss Carlos Quieroz told the BBC.

‘A wonderful day for us. All respect to my players, today showed they love to play football. 

‘Our players deserve to be supported. We want to play for the fans.’