United States v Iran (1998 FIFA World Cup)

The match was preceded by a series of events contributing to a hostile relationship between The United States of America and Iran. Poor relations started with the overthrow of the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammad Mosaddegh, by the US and the UK in a 1953 coup d'etat, due to his policy to nationalize Iran's oil industry. The coup saw the ascension of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi as Iran's sole ruler. Pahlavi, who was friendly with the United States throughout his rule, was deposed by staunchly anti-Western Islamic fundamentalists in the Iranian Revolution. Pahlavi fled the country, ultimately seeking asylum in the US, leading to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. Starting on 4 November 1979, 52 Americans were held hostage for over a year. Relations further soured when on 3 July 1988, a US Navy ship shoot down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 people on board. Despite this, relations started to thaw in 1998 following reformist Mohammad Khatami getting elected President of Iran, which was seen by US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as a new opportunity to normalize strained relations. This 1998 World Cup was significant for Iran as it was their first World Cup since Argentina 1978. They had managed to qualify for the 1998 World Cup following a 2-2 draw against Australia in the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which prompted mass celebrations across Iran. Coaching the Iranian national team was Jalal Talebi, who was appointed only three weeks prior to the Cup, following the firing of Croatian Tomislav Ivic in the aftermath of a 7-1 friendly defeat at the hands of AS Romana. Despite these claims, this game was notably depicted in Iran as between them and The Great Satan, but this sentiment was largely avoided by the members of the Iranian team. "We don't have any problems with the United States players. We want to find new friends," said midfielder Alireza Mansourian. American players echoed the nonpolitical messaging: "I haven't heard anyone say, 'Let's beat Iran, let's do it for Bill Clinton,'" said midfielder Tab Ramos.In spite of calls for depolarization on both sides, the game was still marked by political tensions. A week prior to the match, French television aired the film Not Without My Daughter, which negatively depicted life in Iran. The broadcast was met with harsh condemnation from the Iranian embassy and Talebi. Additionally, there was a politically motivated bombing plot that was stopped shortly before the game. A group of Algerian Islamic fundamentalists who were part of an organization called the Groupes Islamic Armees, were apprehended in May. They were found to have explosives, detonators, fuses and guns and were planning to hide among the crowd to cause as much damage with as little effort as possible. Concerns about potential other plots led to both teams and their facilities being consistently surrounded by large security details. == Pre-match ceremony ==

According to FIFA regulations, teams in each match are classified as team A or team B. Team B, Iran in this match, typically walks towards team A for the pre-match handshakes. The supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei, "Gave express orders that the Iranian team must not walk towards the Americans." Mehrdad Masoudi, one of the FIFA media officers of the match, and Urs Meier, the Swiss referee, negotiated with the teams, and as a result, the Americans walked towards the Iranians. Both teams posed for a photograph together, an uncommon occurrence. These peaceful acts further highlighted the spirit of camaraderie that was building between the two teams. The sentiment of peace and camaraderie expressed in the ceremony contributed to FIFA awarding both teams the 1998 Fair Play Award. == Match ==

Protests and security The match was played at the Stade de Gerland with an extensive amount of security present. Around 150 French police officers were deployed throughout the interior of the stadium which was a huge number for a World Cup game at that time, with riot squads aligned on the perimeter of the field. Despite a sense of urgency about the Americans, Iranian goalkeeper Ahmad Abedzadeh kept the goals out with several big saves. Near the end of the second half at the 84th minute, Mehdi Mahdavikia slotted a low strike inside the far post after a quick counterattack. Nearly 3 minutes later Brian Mcbride made it 2–1 with a header from close range, however the Americans were unable to find an equalizer. During the game, USMNT head coach Steve Sampson adopted a 3-5-2 formation, dropping the 3-6-1 that they used against Germany. Sampson also made several lineup changes, moving Joe-Max Moore from his usual position of forward to left-back. When Brian Maisonneuve was subbed in for Thomas Dooley, he was assigned to play "Kind of in the back but play in front of [the center-back]. I've never played in the back line, but I was supposed to be in midfield." Sampson also controversially decided to move key players, including Alexi Lalas, Marcello Balboa, and Eric Wynalda to the bench. All these decisions were met with frustration from the players. Details == Aftermath ==

A major upset, the match was described by The New York Times as a "historic victory" for Iran. It was Iran's first World Cup win. The streets of Tehran were flooded with millions of jubilant Iranians, outside of Iran there were celebrations among thousands of Iranian Americans in Los Angeles and Iranian spectators in Lyon. Revelers openly drank alcohol and there were reports of women going without headscarves. US defender Jeff Agoos said the players, "Did more in 90 minutes than the politicians did in 20 years," a remark that Sampson said was "Very astute." Looking back, Sampson stated that he would place greater emphasis on the politics of the game to motivate his team if he could do it again. This echoed Lalas's retrospective assessment that the US underestimated how much the game meant to the Iranian players. Unlike events like the ping-pong diplomacy between the United States and China, the match failed to substantially improve relations between the US and Iran. Ayatollah Khomeini had set a strong anti-American policy during his tenure as Supreme Leader, leaving the reformist President Khatami little opportunity to engage in meaningful diplomacy. Additionally, public sentiment in Iran was deeply resentful towards the United States. Before and after the match high ranking Iranian politicians pointed to continued American hostility towards Iran as an obstacle to improving ties. The Iranian press continued to run anti-American stories. The newspaper Jumhuriye Eslami ran a two-part editorial entitled, "The United States is Still Iranian Enemy Number One," on the day before and the day of the game. Washington was less hostile, however the Clinton administration proved hesitant to further relations, though they did formally acknowledge US involvement in the 1953 coup and loosened sanctions against Iran. After the September 11 terror attacks relations hit a standstill as President George W. Bush adopted a less conciliatory Iran policy. The match had a profound impact on the career of Iranian American Afshin Ghotbi, who was working as part of the technical staff of the USMNT. The emotional game between the United States and Iran persuaded Afshin into entering the path as a football coach, ultimately went on to take charge of the Iranian national team from 2009 to 2011, the second American to coach Iran after the very Jalal Talebi himself. == Rematches ==

2000 Pasadena friendly Eighteen months after their meeting in the World Cup, the United States and Iran played a friendly match in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, right outside of Los Angeles which held the largest Iranian population outside Iran. Due to the lack of official diplomatic ties, the match took six months to organize and was met with several hurdles. The match was originally scheduled to play in Washington D.C., but the location was rejected by the Iranians. The Iranian government demanded and was granted exception from being fingerprinted and photographed upon entry into the United States. Despite this, immigration officials in Chicago attempted to do so, prompting the delegation to threaten to immediately return to Iran. Thomas Meredith, the USSF's events manager, was able to defuse the situation by proving the team's exemption. Later, the Iranian Football Federation and the Iranian delegation to the United Nations objected to alcoholic beverage company Anheuser-Busch being one of the event's sponsors, but this too was quickly ameliorated. It was explained that Anheuser-Busch had a general contract to advertise with the USSF and that no company was directly involved in the staging of the game itself. == See also ==