As Iran prepare to begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles, I thought it would be appropriate to repost—without political agenda or commentary—my blog entry from December 2022, written after Dave and I attended the Iran vs. USA match in Qatar.
Al-Thumama: the name of the stadium just had that kind of ring.
This was the one I’d most looked forward to. Islamic Republic of Iran vs United States of America. Yes, the football was important – very important as it turned out. But this felt like a front seat to global geopolitics. Iran’s opportunity to defeat the Great Satan.
I’d expected USA fans to be greatly outnumbered and for animosity to be directed our way. Outnumbered we were. There were so many Iranians. And the USA really must figure out how to be football fans. We may have won the game, but the singing was no contest. Iranians are passionate about football!
It was intimidating to be amongst so many loud Iranians on the metro. But one of them was quick to explain to us that they were singing counter-revolutionary protest songs against the Iranian regime. Any animosity was aimed at their government, not the USA.
The Iranian fans were great. Loud, yes; quick to join the dancing, passionate for their team, eager for good natured smack talk about the USA.
Interestingly, the only Iranians I spoke to directly, didn’t live in Iran. They were expats from Canada, Bahrain, USA. Maybe coincidence. Maybe Iranians living in Iran didn’t want to risk being seen talking to Americans. I also noticed a lot of Iranian women, some with head coverings, so controversial at home, but most without. The expats we spoke with didn’t hesitate to tell us how badly they felt towards the Iranian regime.
Although one, an American, sitting in front of us became rather annoying in his constant attempts at protest. He was trying his best to be noticed on the TV or to be removed by security. But nobody seemed to care except the nearby Iranians who became pretty annoyed by him and made him sit down.
We’ve talked to a lot of Iranians here and I like them very much. They are friendly, easy to talk to, and full of fun. Far more so than the Saudis and Qataris who seem aloof and unapproachable.
The Iranians did not sing their national anthem!
But when all was said and done, and despite everything else, the vast majority of fans, both Iranian and American, were there to enjoy a game of football.
And what a game! I thought the young Americans were outstanding, maintaining discipline and composure in a very difficult environment. The USA easily won the first half and were unlucky to not be more than one goal up. The second half was an edgier affair. I never thought Iran had the creativity to unlock the USA’s stout defense. But the risk was always that the US would make a mistake and let them in. They didn’t and stood strong through a very tense 9 minutes of added time. Really good game. The USA could go further
And so that was that. Our World Cup over. Before the match we’d taken one last walk along the Corniche, the ocean front promenade
From a football perspective Qatar was fantastic. Every bit as well organized and exciting as Brazil and Russia. We didn’t see a hint of any trouble – surprising considering the large number of opposing football fans crammed into such a small place.
Of course, Qatar and FIFA presented their best possible face and so any controversies were lost in the background. I’ll reflect on that in the coming weeks before making my conclusions.
What! Scotland Qualified!!! 