World Cup 2022: Why Wales striker Kieffer Moore is underrated in every way - Ashley Williams

Gareth Bale got the headlines for Wales against the United States but for me the story of their night was Kieffer Moore.

Of course I didn't want anyone else but Bale to take our penalty, at 1-0 down and with less than 10 minutes to go. It was such a pressurised situation, and he dealt with it to get us an equaliser.

It was Moore who changed the game around for us, though. I was really surprised that he didn't start against the US but, on the back of that performance, I would be absolutely gobsmacked if he is left out against Iran on Friday.

The Bournemouth forward made an immediate impact after coming on for the second half. His first involvement was to take the ball on his chest, then run down the channel. He got us up the pitch by about 40 yards, and set the tone for the rest of the game.

Moore is underrated in every way

Moore gave us that focal point we'd been missing but he doesn't just stand in the middle of the pitch waiting for the ball to be fired up to him.

Speaking as a centre-half who has faced him, I can tell you how much of a handful he is to deal with, and how underrated he is in every aspect of his play.

I played against him in the Championship in 2019 when I was at Bristol City and he was at Wigan. He didn't score against me - obviously I wasn't going to let that happen! - but that was the point I thought 'he is going to be in the Premier League soon', and I was right.

For starters, Moore is 6ft 5in but he is a lot more mobile than you would expect him to be - he can get down the wings and run with the ball under pressure too.

His first touch is great as well. As he showed against the US, he will hold the ball up wherever he is, and he is very clever at building play.

Moore kept US defender Tim Ream busy in the second half and came close to an equaliser himself when he headed narrowly over from a corner

You saw that with his involvement in the move that led to our penalty. He is so neat and tidy in the corner and keeps the ball until he gets support.

And whereas in the first half we had been firing balls forward into spaces and it was coming straight back, when we did that after the break, Moore was always there.

He brought Bale and Aaron Ramsey into the game more because they could get up the pitch and be confident that the ball was going to stick, and fed our wing-backs, Neco Williams and Connor Roberts too.

That helped every part of the team as well. The defence could have a breather, and the midfield could push up - although I still think that is an area we need to improve on against Iran.

Allen's return is key

It's weird how you can view a draw in two different ways, depending on how you got it.

The US will have felt like they lost that game after conceding so late, while we finished on such a positive note - the point was huge for our chances of getting to the last 16, and we have got some momentum. I am delighted with all of that.

Still, you cannot skirt around the fact that we started the game so badly. We were absolutely terrible, and it was one of the worst halves I've seen from Wales as player or a pundit.

Moore made the difference in the way we responded but the way we started highlighted what a big miss Joe Allen was in the middle.

He was not fit enough to feature on Monday and has not played since suffering a hamstring injury in mid-September but I have got everything crossed that he makes the Iran game, because we need him.

Without him, the US were completely dominant in midfield in the first half - and I don't think they score their goal with Allen on the pitch.

Their move came straight down the middle and with Allen's knack of being in the right place at the right time and holding space rather than marking a player, he would have spotted the danger and defended that key territory in the centre.

If he doesn't make it, then we have to look at another option to play next to Ethan Ampadu and shore us up a little, then see how the game goes.

I am hoping we can do the same as England against Iran and have constant possession and waves of attack. Then we could free someone up like Ramsey, and he can get to work in the opposition half.

I would also question whether we need a back five this time. Yes, Iran scored twice against England so they will be a threat but all Wales' defenders are comfortable in a four, and that would give us an extra man higher up the pitch.

What next? A must-win game

Iran is a must-win game for us, so we have to treat it like we are going to win it.

I think we can take confidence from watching England dismantle them. The boys won't take Iran lightly at all, but that game showed that if you play on the front foot like that, and be positive and dominate possession, then Iran are there for the taking.

Going into the England game with four points in the bag was always the aim, so we are in a good position to achieve that.

It would mean we are still in the mix to get out of the group and, at half-time in the US game, I did not think I would be saying that.

Ashley Williams was speaking to Chris Bevan in Doha.

• World Cup groups & schedule

• World Cup TV guide

Get the latest results and goal notifications for any team at the Fifa World Cup by downloading the BBC Sport app: Apple - Android - Amazon

Get your daily dose of Fifa World Cup reaction, debate & analysis with World Cup Daily on BBC Sounds