At the World Cup, Iran will once again play the game of its life against the United States

It won’t be just another game, it couldn’t be. Because the protagonists were not and are not so powerful in the territory of football but they were and are central countries in global geopolitics. On the first day of April 2022, The United States learned it could take revenge for the defeat it suffered against the Iranians at the 1998 World Cup in France. At the Exhibition and Congress Center in Doha, the capital of Qatar, 29 of the 32 participating teams were already known.

In the second pot was the American team, then 15th in the FIFA rankings. In the third plate was Iran, 21st in the same ranking. In Group B, the English-speaking group, England remained seeded; Wales as a fortune of guest; and the two morbid rivals beyond the playing field. As the British magazine once described it Four-four-two: “The most politically charged party in history”.

Furthermore, the meeting in question will take place on the last date, that of the definitions. Anyone can ban anyone at that point. Everything seems that England, with goals from Harry Kane and a Premier League squad, no one will be able to snatch the first place. Is that so? On Tuesday 29 November, at the Al Thumana stadium, under the night of Qatar, the faces and jerseys will be seen. Everyone knows that much more than 90 minutes of football will be played.

That victory that continues to beat

Sayed Jalal Talebi, the coach, explained it clearly in the previous days and also in the locker room: those ninety minutes would last forever. The defeat could have the character of a life sentence. But a victory would turn them into celebrities in a territory where football is also a space for expression.

The Iranian footballers played all that June 21, 1998, at the Gerland stadium in Lyon. Opposite was the United States, rival in international politics since the 1979 Islamic revolution. That strictly minor match than the game it was followed as the pinnacle of appointments in almost every corner of the planet. The television showed warm greetings, respect and even flowers as a gift. The protagonists posed together and mixed for photos. Even in the stands, both shared the already traditional wave that had become popular after Mexico 1986.

That day, for a moment Iran felt like a world champion. Beyond the suspense caused by Brian McBride’s rebound goal with three minutes remaining, it was a party that moved from Western Europe to the streets of Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan or Karaj.

the dream of heroes

The 2-1 had its heroes: Hamid Estili hit his head, the ball went past goalkeeper Kasey Keller and celebrated as if he wanted to embrace the whole country. He has since become an emblem even outside the playing field: Sayyed Ali Khamenei – Supreme Leader of Iran – has publicly expressed his gratitude to him; and the man who wore the number nine expressed himself bluntly as a follower and admirer of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The second goal was from one of the most important Iranian footballers of all time: Mehdi Mahdavikia. Seven minutes from the end, on a supersonic counterattack, he runs, overtakes everyone on the left and before the goalkeeper comes out, defines with the tip of his right shoe. That move and his World Cup performance earned him a contract from Germany: from then until 2010 he played in the Bundesliga for Hamburg, Bochum and Eintracht Frankfurt.

“No one will ever forget that day. It is a happiness that will last within each of us and every Iranian”, expressed Ali Daei, emblem of the national team of that day and of all times. He has scored 109 goals with the shirt of the country in which he was born and of which he has become a walking flag. Incidentally, he participated in the game before the second goal. Precise and divine passage in history.

On conflicts, disputes and progress

In Iran, football has historically been plagued by conflict, like the lives of Iranians. After the 1979 Revolution, between 1980 and 1988, the war with Iraq took place. The consequences have been estimated at one million deaths, more than two million injured and around four million displaced by the horror. Of course, the chosen one, the so-called Melli team.

Until those pains, the national team was a winning machine: it won consecutively and with an ideal score the three Asian Cups that were played between 1968 and 1976. Two years after that streak of consecutive victories, in Argentina, Iran debuted in a World Cup. His debut was with a 0-3 against the Netherlands, in Mendoza. Four days later, a milestone: in Córdoba, Iran scored their first goal (via Iraj Danayfar) and scored their first point in a 1-1 draw against Scotland.

After facing the world, the most popular sport lived prisoner of war. The Federation decided to withdraw from the qualifiers for Spain 82 and refused to participate in Mexico 86 due to the inability to play in their own territory. For security reasons, FIFA has requested that its matches be played in neutral cities. Local competition was also hit. Only in the 1990s did the days of reconstruction begin. Until the appearance of the Generation of ’98 to bring Iran back to the big stage.

Apart from the conflicts football is a tradition. The film shows Out sideby Jafar Panahi. There, in the context of a 2006 World Cup qualifying match in Germany against Bahrain, Iran seems to be in unanimous celebration around the team that represents it.

But with restrictions: two young people want to enter where it is not allowed, the stadium. They dress up as boys. Along the way, they have the approval of several fans who seem disinterested in respecting the dividing lines imposed by gender issues.. The film, which won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2006, is inspired by a true story: that of the director’s daughter.

Birth, heyday, setbacks and future …

Iranian football has a long history. The federation was founded in 1920, but only became affiliated with FIFA 25 years later. However, already in 1941, a squad was formed that played (and drew goalless) with Afghanistan, in the first match ever recorded.

In any case, the official inaugural match took place in 1950, against Turkey, in Istanbul. Those were learning times: on that occasion the team lost 6-1. Two decades later, with different faces but the same enthusiasm, the Iranians would become the best on their continent.

After so many ups and downs, now Iran will play its sixth World Cup, the third in a row. In his five previous appearances he played 15 games and won just two, the first that game without forgetting the United States and the other against Morocco in 2018; he tied four and lost nine.

“It’s a team to be very careful about. Beyond the comings and goings with their coaches, it’s a good team, tidy, fast. Able to surprise”explains the Argentine Sebastián Tagliabúe, who knows football in the region very well and represented the United Arab Emirates in the Qatar 2022 Qualifiers. Furthermore, every Iranian is clear: in the path of Group B a light illuminates the possibility of making history again …