The US soccer team triumphed over Iran at the FIFA World Cup 2022 Tuesday after 24 years, defeating the country in one of the most politically-charged games in FIFA history.
With the 1-0 victory, scored by Christian Pulisic, the US has officially entered the round of 16 and will face the Netherlands in the knockout game Saturday.
The win is a remarkable comeback for the US after Iran defeated the country 2-1 in 1998. Notably, the two geopolitical foes have faced each other during the World Cup only twice.
The match in Qatar witnessed increased security to avoid any blowup in the crowd over the ongoing protests in Iran over Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody.
US and Iran
The political tension between the US and Iran goes back over four decades, which seems to have only increased in recent years.
Following the bitter 2018 nuclear deal, which then-President Donald Trump withdrew from, the relationship between the nations became more complex.
Things grew intense after the US soccer team’s social media pages posted a now-taken-down “distorted image” of Iran’s national flag, to show support for the country’s anti-government protests.
Tensions were on the rise off the field as well during Monday’s press conference, where Iranian state media journalists fired questions about the US’s inflation, racism, and immigration at coach Gregg Berhalter and team captain Tyler Adams.