DIPLOMATIC SET PIECE — It’s just a game, right? Except today’s World Cup matchup between the United States and Iran became something much more than that, a testament to a global soccer tournament that has found it nearly impossible this year to divorce itself from global politics. The result, a 1-0 victory for the U.S., brought spasms of joy and relief to American soccer fans. After a humiliating defeat to Trinidad and Tobago — ranked 99th in the world at the time — stopped the U.S. from qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, the U.S men’s team is now through the group stage and into the final 16. In a tournament where politics have played a starring role so far, today’s match ranked as the most politically charged to date. The 2022 World Cup has already been dogged by complaints of corruption inside the tournament’s governing body, FIFA; worries about migrant deaths in host nation Qatar while the stadiums were built; and ongoing protests from multiple teams over Qatar’s anti-gay laws. Tournament favorite Brazil has wrestled with controversy surrounding superstar Neymar’s public support of far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro, who was defeated in Brazil’s recent presidential election. But the contest between bitter geopolitical rivals, the United States and Iran, ratcheted up the tension. In Iran, the national team has been caught up in the recent unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amiri at the hands of the morality police. “There are many Iranians who clearly felt embittered towards the national team for some of the signs of allegiance to the system, which are, of course, impossible to avoid for players on a team such as this,” said Suzanne Maloney, the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institute, who has advised both Democratic and Republican administrations on Iran policy. “[The national team] met with the president before their departure for Doha. And those photos created some backlash.” In Qatar, however, much of the Iranian team chose not to sing the national anthem before their first game against England last week. Afterwards, according to one unverified source from CNN , Iranian officials threatened players’ families with “violence and torture” if they joined any additional protests against the regime. In the run-up to today’s game, however, it was the long history of acrimony between the U.S. and Iran that took center stage. Discussion about each side’s starting XI or the tactics that they would use was overshadowed by the bad blood between the two nations. At a press conference before the match, Iranian state journalists (and technically independent but highly regime-supervised Iranian journalists) grilled U.S. captain Tyler Adams and Coach Gregg Berhalter about perceived injustices in the U.S. Among other questions, reporters asked Berhalter why he hadn’t asked the American government to “take away its military fleet from the Persian Gulf” and why those with an Iranian passport can’t travel to the United States. Adams, after being scolded by a reporter for mispronouncing “Iran,” was asked whether he felt uncomfortable, as a Black man, representing a country with a history of discrimination against Black people. For its part, the U.S. Soccer Federation inflamed the situation with a social media graphic — since taken down — that removed the symbol of the Islamic Republic from the Iranian flag. In response, the Iranian soccer federation called for the U.S. to be expelled from the World Cup . In an indication of the game’s heightened stakes, a sign was placed on the North Lawn of the White House before the match, showing support for the U.S. team. President Joe Biden, not a noted soccer fan, even saw fit to comment after the victory, “USA! USA! That’s a big game, man… They did it, God love ’em.” Politics aside, the U.S. victory served as an affirmation that their “ golden generation ” of young stars is real and is coming of age. For Iran, the outcome was more than just a defeat at the hands of the “ Great Satan ” — the nation’s very talented national team was suddenly knocked out of the World Cup at a time of turmoil at home. “For any Iranian, the estrangement with Washington has essentially shaped their future,” said Maloney. “There’s a particular sense, I imagine a bitterness, associated with a loss.” Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmchugh@politico.com or on Twitter at @calder_mchugh .
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