There was little question, from the moment the United States and Iran were drawn into the same World Cup group, that their Tuesday match would be politically charged.
The tension was palpable Monday, when on the eve of their must-win game, U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter and captain Tyler Adams were grilled by Iranian media about U.S.-Iran relations and other sensitive topics at the traditional pregame news conference broadcast on FIFA.com.
Adams was scolded for mispronouncing “Iran” and asked whether he feels comfortable representing a country that discriminates “against Black people in its own borders.”
Berhalter was asked why he had not told the U.S. government “to take away its military fleet from the Persian Gulf” and was questioned about U.S. immigration policies toward Iranian citizens.
Reporters also asked the American coach and captain to address a social media graphic the U.S. Soccer Federation had posted in which the Iran flag was altered as a show of support for the fight for women’s rights in that country. The post has since been deleted.
“We the coaches and players had no idea what U.S. Soccer put out,” Berhalter said. “All we can do is apologize on behalf of players and staff. It is not something we were part of. Our focus is on this match. I don’t want to sound aloof or not caring, but the guys have worked real hard the last four years and we really are focused on how to get past Iran and get to the knockout round.”
Heading into the final Group B matches, England is in first place with four points (6-2 win vs Iran, scoreless tie vs. USA), Iran is in second place with three points after its win against Wales. The U.S. team is third with two points (ties vs Wales, England), and Wales is last with one point. The top two advance to the Round of 16.
The United States can advance only with a win in the 2 p.m. game (FOX, Telemundo). Iran would advance with a win, and maybe a tie depending on the England-Wales result.
“I know that a lot of other constituents think other things about this game; but for us, it’s a soccer game against a good team, not much more than that,” Berhalter said. “Both teams want to win and advance to the knockout round. We’re very focused, as are they.”
At one point, visibly frustrated by the political line of questioning, Berhalter said: “I am a soccer coach.”
Adams agreed the team is “laser focused” on the game but added that players support the Iranian people. As for racism in America, he replied: “There’s discrimination everywhere you go. One thing I’ve learned, especially from living abroad the past years and having to assimilate into different cultures, is that in the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every single day.
“I grew up in a white family, and with obviously an African American heritage and background as well. So, I had a little bit of different cultures, and I was very easily able to assimilate in different cultures. Not everyone has that ease and the ability to do that, and obviously, it takes longer to understand. Through education. Like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a process.”
Iran coach Carlos Queiroz, who is from Portugal, was asked about the U.S. social media post, which led the Iranian soccer federation to demand FIFA expel the United States from the tournament.
Queiroz said. “We have solidarity with the humanitarian causes all over the world, whatever they are or who they are. If you talk about human rights, racism, kids that die in schools with shootings, we have solidarity to all those causes, but here our mission is to bring the smiles for the people at least for 90 minutes.”
The U.S. team is coming off an inspired performance against England. Although they didn’t win, a tie showed the Americans can go toe to toe with one of the Cup favorites.
Friday’s USA-England match was watched by 20 million people in the United States. More than 15 million viewers tuned in on FOX, making it the most-watched men’s match on English language U.S. television, while another 4.6 million watched in Spanish on Telemundo.
Tuesday’s game is also expected to draw a huge audience. Following a lopsided loss to England, Iran proved dangerous, scoring two stoppage-time goals to beat Wales after the Welsh goalkeeper was red carded and replaced in the 86th minute.
Qatar 2022 is Iran’s third appearance in a row at the World Cup and fifth overall. Iran has never advanced from the group stage. Sixteen of its players are based in Europe. Players to watch include Sardar Azmoun (Bayer Leverkusen), who has scored a team-high 41 goals and Mehdi Taremi (Porto), who scored twice in the opener.
U.S. players Kellyn Acosta, Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie and Tim Ream carry yellow cards into the match against Iran. If any are shown a yellow card Tuesday, they will be ineligible for the USA’s potential Round of 16 match.
