[…] With the Hollywood hills visible from parts of this spectacular stadium, covered by a teardrop-shaped canopy underneath which there is a wraparound LED chandelier, Iran did not seem bogged down by political baggage. After all, this was arguably the most politically supercharged sporting event in history, given the hurdles Iran overcame just to take to the field in Los Angeles – this was the first of three Group G games in the USA, the country with which Iran has been at war with since February. Eleven Iran officials were refused entry to the US, prompting them to relocate their team base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. Their training programme was delayed. […]
But inside this spectacular stadium, there was little in the way of opposition. From the moment Taremi exchanged pennants with Chris Wood, the support for Iran was overwhelmingly positive. Unlike in their opening game in Qatar four years ago, Iran sang the national anthem, which in itself is a divisive issue. Läs artikel