By Samindra Kunti in Doha
November 30 – With the backdrop of the most politically-charged encounter of the World Cup so far, the United States defeated Iran 1-0 to progress to the last 16. However, the encounter was marred by security incidents as Qatari authorities tried to prevent political protests.
After the final whistle, Carlos Queiroz, Iran’s charismatic but fiery coach, conceded defeat and shook the referee’s hand even if his players kept claiming an injury-time penalty after an alleged foul by Cameron Carter-Vickers. They besieged referee Antonio Lahoz after the final whistle. At a news conference, Queiroz said that he was very proud of his players.
The match was however played out against an all-consuming political backdrop.
The diplomatic feud over the removal of official emblem and two lines of Islamic script from its flag by US Soccer on social media, a tense pre-match news conference, and the endless conjecture over the ins-and-out of Team Melli all formed a part of the rich tapestry of this match, not quite the mother of all games, but it came quite close.
This game transcended the sport, at least from the Iranian perspective. It did not have the global geopolitical impact of 1998 when the pair met at the World Cup in France and the Iranian team gave the US players bouquets of white flowers as a gesture of peace.
But it was nevertheless a flashpoint for the nationwide protests in Iran prompted by the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police.
Security was tightened ahead of the game with Persian flags and other protest signs being confiscated. Inside the ground, there were isolated incidents and after the match, there was a skirmish outside the Al Thumama Stadium between pro-regime fans and protesting supporters.
The match, even if progress to the second round was at stake, seemed of lesser importance. Ultimately, Christian Pulisic’s goal was the difference between the two sides.
Reflecting on the match, Queiroz said: “First of all, naturally, the dream is over with this result, the first half was for the US,” said Queiroz. “They started the match much better than us, more quickly, with better movement and passing and they deserved to score no doubt about that. The second half was the opposite.”
“We created enough opportunities and we created more clear opportunities than the US in the first half, but unfortunately football punishes the team that doesn’t score. We didn’t score and we are punished with the result. It is fair to say that we should score. A draw was the fair result of this game, in football that doesn’t exist. That’s the reality.”
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