Iran defeated Wales 2-0 at the World Cup on Friday, bouncing back a 6-2 loss to England on Monday.
Cheshmi’s strike from outside the box was just beyond the diving reach of Wales backup goalkeeper Danny Ward, who was pressed into duty when starter Wayne Hennessey was sent off in the 86th minute.
Ramin Rezaeian added a second goal moments later and Iran wildly celebrated while some of the Welsh players dropped in disbelief to the field.
Hennessy was ejected in the 86th minute for a high challenge on Mehdi Taremi.
Gareth Bale made his 110th appearance for Wales, the most all-time for the national team, but the Welsh appeared sluggish early after a 1-1 draw with the United States in their Group B opener.
The match was played after pro-government fans harassed anti-government fans outside the stadium in Qatar, reflecting the divisions afflicting the country.
Tensions ran high at Iran’s second match at the World Cup on Friday as fans supporting the Iranian government harassed those protesting against it and stadium security seized flags, T-shirts and other items expressing support for the protest movement that has gripped the Islamic Republic.
Some fans were stopped by stadium security from bringing in Persian pre-revolutionary flags to the match against Wales at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.
Others carrying such flags had them ripped from their hands by pro-government Iran fans, who also shouted insults at fans wearing T-shirts with the slogan of the protest movement gripping the country, “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
Unlike in their first match against England, the Iran players sang along to their national anthem before the match as some fans in the stadium wept, whistled and booed.
The national team has come under close scrutiny for any statements or gestures about the nationwide protests that have wracked Iran for weeks.
Shouting matches erupted in lines outside the stadium between fans screaming “Women, Life, Freedom” and others shouting back “The Islamic Republic!”
One 35-year-old woman named Maryam, who like other Iran fans declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals, started to cry as shouting men blowing horns encircled her and filmed her face. She had the words “Woman Life Freedom” painted on her face.
“We want to raise awareness about his arrest and about the women’s rights movement,” said Maryam, who lives in London but is originally from Tehran.
“I’m not here to fight with anyone, but people have been attacking me and calling me a terrorist. All I’m here to say is that football doesn’t matter if people are getting killed in the streets.”
Maryam and her friends had worn hats emblazoned with the name of an outspoken Iranian former soccer player Voria Ghafouri, who had criticized Iranian authorities and was arrested in Iran on Thursday on accusations of spreading propaganda against the government.
She said Iranian government supporters had taken the hats from their heads.
Ghafouri, who is Kurdish, was a star member of Iran’s 2018 World Cup team, but was surprisingly not named in the squad for this year in Qatar.
The turmoil has overshadowed the start of Iran’s World Cup campaign.
The opening match against England on Monday was the scene of protests as anti-government fans waved signs and chanted in the stands.
Before that match, which Iran lost 6-2, its players remained silent as their national anthem played and didn’t celebrate their two goals.
On Friday, they sang along to the anthem and celebrated wildly when they scored twice against Wales.
Zeinlabda Arwa, a security guard at the stadium, confirmed that authorities had been given orders to confiscate anything but the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran.