England 6
Iran 2
AT THIS POINT of the World Cup it may be worth asking if we can just take the football out of the politics.
This was less a match than a melting pot of virtues and flaws; of bravery, outrage, moral equivocation and the sheer, brazen cynicism that is providing the same ambient noise to this World Cup as the vuvuzelas gave to South Africa 2010.
The hours before the game were dominated by the risible convulsion of the ‘One Love’ rainbow armband, as Fifa told the European captains intending to wear it that they would be booked for breaching equipment rules. That’s because, at the eleventh hour, Fifa introduced their own sloganed armbands, bearing such corporate pablum as ‘#FootballUnitesTheWorld, and #BringTheMoves’, the latter which is literally nonsense.
The collision of two empty phrases actually imbued the outlawed phrase with meaning, at which point it was dropped. The Fifa #AntiDiscrimination slogan slated for the quarter-finals was instead worn here by Harry Kane, but that was empty: the very premise of its being worn here was that it meant nothing. The England players and their manager have distinguished themselves by giving voice to their conscience over the last few years, and took heavy criticism for not defying Fifa’s rule. More shocking, though, is that Fifa directly threatened players for deigning to wear a tame emblem of tolerance: it was another moment when the veil fell from this World Cup of grisly clarity.
What followed the English anthem was remarkable, as the Iranian players refused to sing their national anthem, as that same anthem was jeered and drowned out by the travelling Iran fans. Their country is roiling to popular revolt following the death of Mahsa Amini three days after she was arrested by the country’s morality police, and those protests have been met with a brutal crackdown. This team went to the World Cup assailed by questions as to whether they represent the regime or the people who are in revolt. Captain Sardar Azmoun spoke out in October and was swiftly rebuked, with manager Carlos Querioz reportedly rebuffing political pressure to name him in his World Cup squad. But here the Iranian players stood side-by-side and assumed a brave, uniform expression of steely, blazing eyes and locked jaws.
The crowd responded by vociferously disavowing the anthem and unfurling a banner reading ‘Woman, life, freedom.’ It was a protest in the truest sense of the world and it accentuated the awesome power of the sport, that same power that is too often hijacked and devalued by the empty sloganeering of its organisers.
Chunks of the stands were empty as the Iranian players made their protests, owing to long delays caused by Fifa’s ticketing app crashing in the hours leading up to the game. It took all of seven minutes to complete the tournament bingo card of Things Football Doesn’t Do Well, with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand involved in a sickening, head-on-head collision with one of his own defenders. He spent several minutes on the ground receiving treatment until he picked himself gingerly up for a minute, until he waved to he bench and again laid himself out on the ground.
By the time the fourth official announced 14 minutes of first-half additional time, England were 3-0 up. They were superb in the first-half, patiently picking holes around Iran’s deep-lying back five. Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount drifted into smart positions between the lines, with Sterling’s clever reverse pass to Trippier winning a corner from which Harry Maguire headed against the bar. Mount drifted into the same pocket of space off the left flank shortly after and it earned England their first goal, with Mount popping the ball back to Sterling, who in turn pushed the ball forward to Luke Shaw. His cross was excellent, headed Steven Gerrard-style into the far corner by Jude Bellingham.
Liverpool may regret waiting to sign Bellingham next year, as if he repeats this performance through the tournament, the transfer fee needed to wrangle him out of Borussia Dortmund will be measured as contributing to Germany’s GDP. He was magnificent here, playing further forward than Declan Rice and linking play midfield with attack when he wasn’t doing the attacking himself.
England’s third goal owed a little to his marauding intent: bursting into the box, he distracted a defender for long enough to allow Sterling dart in front and turn in Harry Kane’s cross. The second goal, meanwhile, vindicated Gareth Southgate’s big selection calls. He yoked himself to Harry Maguire ahead of the tournament and tonight he omitted Phil Foden in favour of Bukayo Saka, and it was Maguire who headed down a corner into Saka’s path, whose volleyed, top-corner finish oozed quality.
Saka scored England’s fourth just after the (second) hour mark, skating in from the flank to curl the ball easily beyond replacement goalkeeper Hosseini. Iran’s Medhi Taremi startled England moments later by lashing a brilliant first-time finish beyond Pickford – his clever movement deceiving Maguire who was replaced immediately after with a suspected concussion – but it didn’t matter. Marcus Rashford was also introduced off the bench and mimicked Saka by cutting in off the right wing to side-foot beyond Hosseini. There was time for a sixth, as Callum Wilson scarpered clear and pulled the ball back for Jack Grealish to roll in the kind of goal he thought he would be scoring more often for Manchester City.
Iran were unusually brittle but they could not handle England’s brisk tempo: one wonders if one of the unintended consequences of a winter World Cup is to better reward the rhythm and match fitness of the sides whose players are dotted across Europe’s top leagues. Iran got their second consolation goal at the end, as the VAR spotted a shirt tug by John Stones in the penalty area, with Taremi sending Pickford the wrong way with the game’s very final kick.
As the game was wending to its end, Queiroz walked to his dug-out and waved his arms at Iran’s supporters, beckoning them to remain positive and blowing them a series of kisses.
Today’s lesson is clear: when people say sport and politics must not mix, it is the sportspeople who must stand apart.
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Didn’t know he was on the field until they got the penalty