If you ask, which group stage of the 1998 World Cup in France attracted the most attention from the global media? What makes event organizers most nervous? In the match between Iran and the United States on June 21 at the Lyon Gerland Stadium, no one dares to say first.
In terms of the strength of the two teams, this game will not make people look forward to it, and to some extent, it will even be a game of rookies pecking each other. What really brought the game to the spotlight was the complicated relationship between the two countries, which in 1979 transformed from former close friends into mortal enemies. This background makes the host country feel like a pins and needles, and the security work inside and outside the stadium of this event is like a big enemy, and the intensity and intensity are greater than any previous game, after all, the slightest carelessness can lead to a major accident.
Fortunately, there were no accidents in the game, and under the running and mediation of many parties, the appearance ceremony of this game can also be called a classic. The U.S. team took the initiative to walk to the Iranian team, and the Iranian team members each held a bouquet of white roses and presented flowers to the American team members, symbolizing that they came for peace.
Although the appearance ceremony was quite heartwarming, the prospects for both teams were not very good, and since they lost in the first round, neither of them could afford to lose this game. Iran's starting line-up has changed little, except to start Ahmed Abdzadeh in the goalkeeper position.
In contrast, the changes on the U.S. side have been considerable, with Joe Moore, Weigler, Ramos, Hayduk and McBride replacing Burns, Stewart, Winnalda, De Lin and Masonuve in the starting line-up for the match.
In the second minute of the match, the United States took the lead when they were awarded a free-kick from the right, and McBride received a pass from a teammate in the box and headed it out, only to have the ball hit the crossbar and Iran escaped.
After that, the two teams played in harmony, but in the eighth minute of the game, Iran's Minavand put Hayduk down fiercely while defending on the left side, resulting in the first yellow card of the match.
If anyone was the unluckiest person to start the game, it was McBride of the United States, who headed the ball after receiving a pass from a teammate in the box in the 14th minute, only to hit the post again and pop it off.
In the 18th minute of the match, Iran launched a counterattack, but Aziz was brought down by Regis, and referee Mel did not hesitate to show the latter a yellow card.
Immediately afterwards, Bagheri offered a long-range shot, but unfortunately the angle was too correct and was directly confiscated by Keller.
In the 21st minute of the match, there was a controversial scene on the pitch, Aziz fell into the box after a collision with Keller, but referee Mel refused to award a penalty.
The U.S. team didn't have good luck either, the goal post and crossbar became their biggest enemies in the first half, and in the 33rd minute, Reina's left-footed shot from outside the box hit the post again, and the U.S. team was really lucky.
The unlucky American was hit hard again in the 40th minute, Madavecchia held the ball on the right side of the front, faced the defender who came to block, he divided the ball to the side, Zarinche on the side of the ball to meet the ball and crossed, Estilli in the box jumped up to grab a header to score, and Iran took the lead.
The slightly passive Iranian team scored first, which is probably unexpected to many people, and then the two sides did not achieve anything, and the score of 1-0 was carried into the intermission.
After twelve minutes of play in the second half, the United States began to make substitutions, first replacing Ramos with Stewart.
Then he replaced Weigler with Preki.
After completing the substitution, the American team still attacked fiercely, and even suppressed the Iranian team for a time, but their luck was really bad. In the 72nd minute of the match, Regis' shot was again blocked by the post.
Iran began making successive substitutions in the 74th minute of the match, first Aziz being replaced by Mansurian and then replacing Mohamahani with Perovanni.
In the 77th minute of the match, Iran replaced Zarinche with Sadavisad. Zarin grinded off the pitch and was found to be delaying the match by referee Mel, so he showed him a yellow card.
The U.S. also made a final substitution in the 82nd minute of the game, with Mason Neuve replacing captain Dolly.
Just as the U.S. team pressed heavily to equalize, they immediately suffered another blow. In the 84th minute of the match, Iran countered with a break from the back, Alidayi got the ball and distributed the ball to the left, and Madavecchia started quickly. At this time, the American team was extremely empty in the half due to the fact that the troops were invested in the offensive end of the frontcourt, and only Regis was chasing after Madavecchia alone, but it was too late. Madavecchia pushed through Keller's gate with a push to extend the score to 2-0.
In the 85th minute of the match, Iran almost killed the game completely, they again launched a quick counter-attack through a tackle from the back, Madavecchia crossed to Ali Dai in front of the goal, but Daye's shot was first blocked by Keller, and then the follow-up shot was cleared by the American defender on the goal line.
Two minutes later, the United States finally scored, and in the 87th minute of the game, the United States took a corner kick from the right side, the ball went straight to the middle of the Iranian penalty area, Iranian goalkeeper Abdezadeh chose to shoot the ball but was unsuccessful, and the unguarded McBride at the back point was a fish leap to the top of the ball.
There was chaos in front of the Iranian team, and when he saw the ball hovering on the goal line, Hakopur was just trying to stretch his foot to relieve the siege, and Stewart rushed to send the ball into the net completely, and the two almost fought because of this. In fact, the ball was already over the line when Hucklepool wanted to clear the fence, so the scorer was still McBride.
Although they finally scored, there was little time left for the Americans, who could not afford to return and lost the game. The final whistle blew and Iran had their first World Cup victory, against sworn enemies the Americans. The U.S. team, who lost the game, could only swallow the bitter fruit of the group exit.