{"id":3181,"date":"2022-11-28T23:30:10","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T13:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/?p=3181"},"modified":"2026-09-25T10:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T01:12:47","slug":"you-have-to-win-remembering-the-world-cups-most-politically-charged-encounter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theasiangame.net\/ro\/you-have-to-win-remembering-the-world-cups-most-politically-charged-encounter\/","title":{"rendered":"“You have to win” – Remembering the World Cup’s most politically charged encounter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Asian Game’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is proudly sponsored by SMC.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Politics and sport: It is often said the pair should never mix. Yet on June 21, 1998 one of the most highly-charged fixtures in World Cup history took place when Iran and the United States met during the group phase of France 98. Michael Church was there.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For more than six months the anticipation had been building. From the moment Iran and the United States were almost implausibly placed in the same group during the World Cup draw in Marseille in December 1997 expectation of this most historic of clashes grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideological rivals since the United States-backed regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown by the Islamic revolution in 1979, this rare sporting encounter between nations that had spent the preceding two decades sparring with one another became a focal point of France 98.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Cup finals had never before seen such a clash. The propaganda war that already existed between the nations now seeped into football as the build-up to the game took on geopolitical significance amid growing rumour and speculation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suggestions were made in some quarters that the game should not take place; others wanted to hijack a match destined to attract global attention to further their own agendas. Iranian authorities, meanwhile, instructed their players not to shake hands with their American counterparts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the Stade de Gerland the tension was palpable. A raucous crowd, dominated by Iranian fans, turned up the volume as the world\u2019s media gathered. Football was at risk of becoming a sideshow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet it was sport that brought the two nations together and it was the players who, ultimately, were hoping to fulfill their ambitions on the field rather than being used as pawns in a much larger political game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both countries had lost their opening match at the finals, Iran slipping to a 1-0 defeat against Yugoslavia while the United States had been defeated by Germany. Away from all of the external pressures, both teams needed a win to put their World Cup campaign on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>