Wales vs. Iran: How do both squads compare ahead of World Cup clash?

Making their first World Cup appearance in over 64 year, Gareth Bale delivered the goods once again as he converted his 82nd-minute penalty to hand the Dragons a 1-1 draw against USA on Monday.

As for Iran, they suffered their heaviest World Cup defeat six hours earlier as they were thrashed 6-2 by England when the side squared off at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Here, Sports Mole looks at how the squads of Wales and Iran weigh up against each other ahead of Friday's contest.

WALES

Most valuable player:

Ben Davies (£17.1m)

Overall squad value:

£137.3m

Most capped player:

Gareth Bale (109)

Leading goalscorer:

Gareth Bale (41)

Total caps:

1,005

Total goals:

93

Oldest player:

Wayne Hennessey (35)

Youngest player:

Rubin Colwill (20)

Average age:

26.4

SQUAD IN FULL

Goalkeepers: Wayne Hennessey (Nottingham Forest), Danny Ward (Leicester City), Adam Davies (Stoke City)

Defenders: Neco Williams (Nottingham Forest), Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Ben Cabango (Swansea City), Joe Rodon (Rennes, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Chris Mepham (Bournemouth), Ethan Ampadu (Spezia, on loan from Chelsea), Chris Gunter (AFC Wimbledon), Connor Roberts (Burnley), Tom Lockyer (Luton Town)

Midfielders: Aaron Ramsey (Nice), Joe Allen (Swansea City), Harry Wilson (Fulham), Joe Morrell (Portsmouth), Dylan Levitt (Dundee United), Rubin Colwill (Cardiff City), Jonny Williams (Swindon Town), Matthew Smith (Milton Keynes Dons), Sorba Thomas (Huddersfield Town)

Forwards: Gareth Bale (Los Angeles FC), Dan James (Fulham, on loan from Leeds United), Kieffer Moore (Bournemouth), Mark Harris (Cardiff City), Brennan Johnson (Nottingham Forest)

IRAN

Most valuable player:

Mehdi Taremi (£17.1m)

Overall squad value:

£51.8m

Most capped player:

Ehsan Hajsafi (122)

Leading goalscorer:

Sardar Azmoun (41)

Total caps:

996

Total goals:

151

Oldest player:

Vahid Amiri (34)

Youngest player:

Abolfazl Jalali (24)

Average age:

28.9

SQUAD IN FULL

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Amir Abedzadeh (Ponferradina), Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan)

Defenders: Ehsan Hajsafi (AEK Athens), Morteza Pouraliganji (Persepolis), Ramin Rezaeian (Sepahan), Milad Mohammadi (AEK Athens), Hossein Kanaanizadegan (Al-Ahli), Shojae Khalilzadeh (Al-Ahli), Sadegh Moharrami (Dinamo Zagreb), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Majid Hosseini (Kayserispor), Abolfazl Jalali (Esteghlal)

Midfielders: Vahid Amiri (Persepolis), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord), Saeid Ezatolahi (Vejle), Mehdi Torabi (Persepolis), Saman Ghoddos (Brentford), Ali Gholizadeh (Charleroi), Ahmad Nourollahi (Shabab Al-Ahli), Ali Karimi (Kayserispor)

Forwards: Karim Ansarifard (Omonia), Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen), Mehdi Taremi (Porto)

Read more on Wales vs Iran

Click here to read our full preview for Wales vs Iran

How Wales could line up against Iran

How Iran could line up against Wales