USA advances to World Cup knockout stage after stunning win against Iran

The United States has defeated Iran in one of the most anticipated games of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, advancing to the knockout stage of the tournament.
The United States men’s national team scored their first and only goal of the match a little over a third of the way through the first half. With challenge after challenge being tackled, a series of injuries and substitutions led to an additional nine minutes of stoppage time at the end of the second half, but the USMNT was able to hold on and maintain their 1β0 lead over Iran .
For the US men’s national team, winning the game was the only way to advance to the knockout stage of the international tournament. They will now face the Netherlands in an elimination game on Saturday.
The team celebrated the win on Twitter shortly after the game ended, thanking the fans for their support in one tweet and sharing another showing their enthusiasm on the field.
“At home and in Qatar, you were with us 99+ minutes tonight. We felt the love. We felt the unwavering support. Thank you,” Team wrote,
The team have now scored two goals in the tournament, in a 1β1 draw against Wales and a 0β0 draw with England in earlier matches.
In a simultaneous England-Wales game on Tuesday, the English team won 3-0, going top of Group B.
It is the first time the US and Iranian teams have played each other in more than 20 years. In 1998, Iran defeated the United States 2β1 in its first victory at the World Cup.
Matthew Childs / Reuters
the game also came on a high stress time: On Monday, a press conference with USA coach Greg Berhalter and captain Tyler Adams disintegrated into chaos when the two traded barbs with Iranian state media reporters. Adams, who is black, was criticized for mispronouncing Iran, and was asked by a reporter if he thought it was “okay to represent America” ββwhen “there is so much discrimination against black people in America”. Is.”
Adams responded by saying that the country “continues to make progress every day.”
Throughout the tournament, Iran faced criticism for the government’s handling of anti-regime protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s “morality police”. The country’s Islamic cleric rulers have faced the most serious unrest since coming to power in 1979, which has been fueled by protests mainly led by women and girls, and has drawn protests from around the world. fatal reaction criticized,
an Iranian general speculated about 300 people have been killed so far. The non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights put the number closer to 450 people.
At the World Cup, which was already under scrutiny because of its placement in Qatar, some members of the Iranian team refused to sing the country’s song before their game against England.
Earlier in the tournament, the United States Soccer Federation shared an edited version Iranian flags on social media. The version of the flag shared removed the Islamic Republic’s emblem from the green, white and red flag to show “support for women fighting for basic human rights in Iran”.
Iranian state media called for the removal of the USMNT from the World Cup. The social media posts have since been removed, and the team’s website and new posts now show the correct flag.
On Monday, a protester wearing a shirt saying “respect for Iranian women” disrupted a game between Portugal and Uruguay. The man, who was not affiliated with either team, was carried off the field, but it was not confirmed whether he was arrested or charged.