This proved to be a game too far for Iran. As his players grasped the significance of the final whistle, many of them falling to the ground, it was impossible not to wonder what was going through their heads. Rarely has a team contested a World Cup facing such an extraordinary set of external pressures and the devastation of not making an agonizing debut in the knockout stages was etched on every face. When the dust has settled, they should be very proud to remain so competitive, but the physical and emotional exertions of the last few weeks will have taken a considerable toll.
The mood would have been very different had they converted one of several good chances in the second half, the last of which fell to Mehdi Taremi in added time. He couldn’t quite squeeze the ball past Matt Turner, claiming it had been pulled by Cameron Carter-Vickers, and had animated trouble with the match officials after the proceedings had concluded. In reality he was clutching at straws: any contact had been insignificant and the truth was that, above the set, Iran were being beaten by the better side.
Quick Guide
Qatar: beyond football
show
This is a World Cup like no other. For the past 12 years, The Guardian has been reporting on the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is collected on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond the Football homepage for those who want to delve deeper into issues beyond the pitch.
The Guardian’s reporting goes far beyond what happens on the field. Support our investigative journalism today.
Thanks for your comments.
It was a triumph for the USA, who deserved the winner Christian Pulisic rallied seven minutes before the break. There may be a cost: Pulisic collided with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand while scoring from close range and was absent for the second half, undergoing precautionary scans in hospital for an abdominal injury. The prognosis remains to be seen, but for now, Gregg Berhalter and his players will relish the prospect of facing the Netherlands on Saturday.
They dominated an occasion for which the build-up contained enough stories, yarns and sleds to fill a tome. Iran’s football association had unsuccessfully petitioned FIFA to ban the US from the tournament for using an altered version of its flag on social media in solidarity with the country’s oppressed women; Carlos Queiroz had stirred the pot by shedding light on social issues on the other side of the Atlantic and all of this is second to none in the long-term history between the two.
Iran’s Ali Karimi is dejected by the defeat. Photograph: Ricardo Mazalán/AP
Singing their national anthem with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Iran’s players couldn’t help but hear the whistles raining from some of their supporters. Those were aimed at the regime, not at the men caught in the middle; When the game started, the energy of the fans was channeled into a deafening support for their team, only to be silenced when Pulisic finished with a magnificent move.
“The dream is over,” said Queiroz before paying tribute to his squad’s remarkable application. “Throughout my career I have never seen players who give so much and receive so little in return. I am extremely proud of their dedication and the effort they put in, wearing their shirts for their country.”
A point would have seen them qualify, but after starting as a team that liked the three, they spent most of the first period outplayed by a fit and fast American team that Queiroz described as “Ferraris “. The goal had been coming even though clear opportunities had not preceded it; Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie had taken control of the midfield, while Sergiño Dest and Timothy Weah created chaos on the right.
His pressure was elegantly explained with an execution straight from the training ground. Everything had to be perfect and it was: from McKennie’s 45-yard diagonal ball to Dest, to the right-back’s run and deliberate header across the six-yard box, to the dart of Pulisic with good timing and a deft finish from close range. in the process it will have been worth it.
‘USA! USA! USA!’ LA fans react to World Cup win over Iran: video
“He deserved to score,” admitted Queiroz. But his assessment of the second half was that Iran did as well, concluding that a draw would have been “the right result”. They didn’t exert enough sustained pressure to be fully convincing, even when the United States went into their shell, but substitute Saman Ghoddos was capricious from two presentable openings and Ramin Rezaeian headed in a whisker as they went over the minutes
Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s suspension and obvious fitness issues around Sardar Azmoun, who was withdrawn at the interval, limited their attacking options and they looked stretched for extended periods. Taremi seized a golden opportunity to get an Azmoun model before the US took control, but Iran never looked sharp enough.
Christian Pulisic
It was all a mercifully quiet occasion, although there was no pre-match replay of the joint photograph taken when the countries met in France 98. Berhalter noted that this year’s team had gathered the intensity that his predecessors, who were defeated. 2-1 then, I couldn’t. That made a considerable difference, but surely so did the environment in which Iran was forced to operate.
“Thanks to their work, to the conversations, the players slowly began to smile again,” said Queiroz. “They understand who they are playing, they understand their mission when they play for Iran.” By helping to shine a light on the dire conditions faced by so many there, they may have fulfilled some of that in Qatar. Whether it’s generated on or off the field, the pain and sadness won’t pass quickly.