USA versus Iran in the FIFA World Cup will be more than just a football match in Qatar
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Iran and USA
The first week of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar has proved dramatic twists and turns, some literal, with Neymar out with an ankle injury. This is what makes football’s lavish extravaganza so exciting where predictions go for a toss and favourites bite the dust.
Friday night’s action in Qatar was bizarre, where England and the United States of America played out a goalless draw. Just imagine, after England won their first match by a huge margin against Iran, the draw against the Yanks was the last thing they wanted. Gareth Bale is now banging his head in agony. He knows the situation in Group B gets dicey, as England will play Wales next. on November 30.
On paper, Wales are not strong, having lost to Iran 0-2, again on Friday, in a dramatic match of Biblical proportion. It has been up and down for Iran in many ways. If in their first match, they wanted to send a message to the world and did not sing the national anthem, there was a change of heart before the second match.
There is nothing like getting fired up by the national anthem. It brings into athlete energy of massive volume. Playing for the country and representing the flag is indeed emotional. Everyone knows the world is watching countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia turn in inspired performances. Call it a change in script or call it showing true potential, the so-called minnows have whipped up the cream.
It’s hard to be in a situation like Iran in football or Afghanistan in cricket. There is turmoil back home, there is chaos in society and focusing on sport is so tough. If one saw Afghans play from the heart in the Asia Cup cricket in the UAE, Iran has been a newsmaker. The best part is on Friday night they made news in pure football terms as they left Wales wailing.
Results produced by USA and Iran against England and Wales have stirred the pot in Group B
So, are these results bizarre or a fluke? Certainly not. Each time competing in Qatar has come through a tough qualification process, whatever be the zone, Asia, Europe, Latin America etc. There are no free lunches on this stage called the World Cup. That is why we are getting to see football which is riveting and driven by purpose.
Gazing at the crystal ball, one has to look at the forthcoming contest between Iran and the United States of America. For those conversant with history and geography, relations between these two countries, so far away, have been very bad for decades, over 60 years. Experts in foreign affairs have studied this subject in detail and the consensus is there will probably never be normalcy.
If that be the case, you can well imagine how the teams will compete against each other on the football field — a neutral venue. Pretty much like how TV channels dramatise India versus Pakistan in a cricket match. That these two nations in Asia do not play each other unless it is an ICC event or under the Asian Cricket Council flag is well known. Both nations hate each other, even though the sport is supposed to integrate. Reality is so different.
Coming to the USA versus Iran football match, a peep into the past offers insight into why they are so bitter. Iran is an Islamic Shia country which has been up in arms with the USA since 1953. At that time, it is believed the Intel agencies of Britain and the USA engineered the ouster of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadeq.
The turning point, literally, was in 1979, when the revolution began in Iran. It was a bloody one, where the Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlevi fled the country. Shah was backed by the USA but protests and demonstrations by religious opponents spelt his doom. Pahlevi fled to the USA, where he died later. That brought into power religious leader Late Ayatollah Khomeini, who was a terror. Stories of his atrocities are well chronicled. His reign was long, before passing away in 1989.
Since then, till today, there have been massive upheavals in the relationship between USA and Iran. The worst, perhaps, was in 1979 when the US embassy in Tehran was seized by protesters. For a record 444 days, American hostages were holed up inside the embassy. Finally, in January 1981, 52 hostages were freed when US President Ronald Reagan came to power.
Crisis after crisis has plagued relations between the USA and Iran, including oil and N deals. Presidents changed in the USA and there was a brief period when Barrack Obama became Prez, there was a thaw in relations from 2012 till 2016. After that, contentious issues have plagued relations between both nations. It took a turn for the worse after Donald Trump became president! Now, the situation within Iran is at its nadir. There is an outcry against the current regime of Ayatollah Khameini.
Protests, women standing up, crying and wanting to be heard, make for tearful viewing. A society hammered by fundamentalists is trying to bring in a change. Sadly, the resistance from within Iran is so high, nothing will change soon. In such a scenario, for the Iran team to be playing football is a big achievement. They are not normal football players like in most other countries. They are oppressed and suppressed. Yet, if football is creativity in a human form and men with studs can create an impact, beating Wales was massive.
Iran football is indeed on a high. How they carry forward the momentum for the big battle against the USA on the pitch will have different dimensions. And, football will be just one part of it.
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)