What Portsmouth midfielder Joe Morrell must help or see Wales do to keep World Cup dream alive - and when he could be back at Fratton Park

That’s the only way Wales will be able to reach the knockout stages in Qatar following their 2-0 Group B defeat to Iran today.

But even then, Morrell & Co will be relying on results going their way elsewhere, with no guarantee that a historic win against the Three Lions – who play the USA tonight (7pm) in their second game – will be enough.

At present, Robert Page’s side sit bottom of their group with one point from their two matches played. Their goal difference also sits at -2.

A draw against Iran, following a 1-1 draw against the States in their opening fixture, looked on the cards for the Welsh until goalkeeper Wayne’s Hennessey’s straight red card four minutes before normal time.

That reduced them to 10 men and subsequently presented Carlos Queiroz’s side with the impetus to go on and snatch victory thanks to stoppage-time goals from Rouzbeh Cheshmi (90+8 minutes) and Ramin Rezaeian (90+11).

The Welsh squad – including Morrell, who was an unused substitute at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium – looked devastated at the final whistle.

And that’s hardly surprising given they now face the massive challenge of requiring victory in their final group match against England on Tuesday.

Despite defeat to Iran, Wales not view that as an impossible task and must retain hope if they are to progress from the group.

Nevertheless, Wales' first World Cup since 1958 looks like it is in serious danger of ending at the earliest stage.

And if that proves to be the case, Morrell – who came on as a 90+5 minute substitute against America – could be back in the Pompey reckoning for their League One trip to Wycombe on Sunday, December 4.

That’s the day after the runner-up in Group B – which is Wales’ best hope of qualifying for the next stage of the World Cup – takes on the winner of Group A in Qatar (3pm).

The winner of the group will take on the second-placed Group A team on that Sunday at 7pm.

It’s also worth noting that Pompey earn $10,000 for every day Morrell is away with Wales at the World Cup.

The midfielder has missed two Blues games since jetting off to the World Cup – Derby (league) and Ipswich (Papa John’s Trophy).

Morrell will also be absent for the FA Cup game against MK Dons tomorrow.

Current Group B standings

1 England P1 W1 D0 L0 Pts 3

2 Iran P2 W1 D0 L1 Pts 3

3 USA P1 W0 D1 L0 Pts 1

4 Wales P2 W0 D1 L1 Pts 1

Remaining fixtures:

Today: England v USA (7pm)

Tuesday: November 29: England v Wales; USA v Iran (both 7pm kick-offs)