Iran vs. USA is so distracting

• Wednesday’s Qatar World Cup 2022 match pits Iran against the U.S.
• Survival is threatened.
• Millions watching in Iran will have trouble focusing on the game.

Wednesday’s Qatar World Cup 2022 match pits Iran against the U.S.

Survival is threatened. Most of the millions watching in Iran will have trouble focusing on the game. It’s not simply the countries’ bad relations.

The teams last met in France in 1998. That was their first match since cutting ties after Iran’s 1979 revolution.

Tensions on the pitch lessened after the Iranians gave their opponents white roses and took a group selfie.

Hamid Estili and Mehdi Mahdavikia scored in Tehran’s 2-1 triumph. Iran’s first World Cup victory.

Iran defeated Wales on Friday. It boosted the players after a 6-2 loss against England in their opener.

A win over the US would advance the team to the knockout stage for the first time.

Players and management know football isn’t everything.

Human rights groups say more than 400 people, including 60 children, have been slain in Iran’s 70-day demonstrations.

Iran hasn’t disclosed figures.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died after being arrested by morality police for not following a clothing code.

World Cup protests feature her name and the slogan “woman, life, freedom.”

Some Iranians expected Team Melli players to join other current and former athletes in supporting the demonstrations at the biggest international football stage.

Last Thursday, Captain Ehsan Hajisafi implicitly supported the protesters in Doha. Before playing England, the players refused to perform the national anthem.

Since then, they’ve just talked about football and chanted the anthem before the Wales game.

After the England game, Iran called for protests. Demonstrations were constrained by a huge presence of security forces and a major slowness in internet connectivity, on top of significant internet restrictions in place since the protests began.

After beating Wales, security personnel encouraged street celebrations.

Police in riot gear were videotaped waving flags, riding motorcycles, and playing music in the streets. State-affiliated news outlets showed photographs of women cheering without the obligatory headscarf.

Authorities continue to emphasize the necessity of adopting Iran’s current national flag, while demonstrators overseas use banners from before the revolution.

Iran complained to FIFA on Monday about US social media posts that removed the word “Allah” from the Islamic Republic’s flag in support of the protests.

Iran’s senior officials accuse the US of fomenting “riots” and “terrorism” in the country, which Washington denies.

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