Iran vs. Egypt was supposed to divide, overshadowed by Pride, politics and protests. Instead, it was pure delight, showing the best of the World Cup.
SEATTLE — It was the World Cup game everyone had been eyeing for months, some with defiance, some with trepidation, some with fury.
As is so often the case, however, the fears of the unknown are worse than the reality. A game that was supposed to represent the worst of what the World Cup has become instead was a showcase of why it’s so magnificent.
Egypt and Iran did not walk off the field at the sight of Pride flags in the stands. There were Egypt fans wearing Pharaoh headdresses and Iran fans waving flags past and present. Fans tooted horns and a brass band played during hydration breaks. Fans cheered, and groaned, each time an update on the score of the Belgium vs. New Zealand game, which determined whether Egypt won the group, was shown on the scoreboard.
The game itself? A pure delight, one of the most wonderfully chaotic of the tournament so far. Two goals, a penalty saved, four yellow cards and a bicycle clearance.
And that was just in the first half.
The end was even more frenzied. Iran scored the game-winner in stoppage time, only to have it disallowed. Team Melli also hit the crossbar and had another shot blocked by Egypt keeper Mostafa Shoubir. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning Iran has to wait another day to see if it will reach the knockout rounds for the first time.
"I hope God sees us and gives what we deserve because we show our quality. I think the fans who came here today ... they enjoy a lot. Especially the last 15 minutes," defender Ramin Rezaeian said.
If this World Cup has taught us anything, it's that we are not nearly as divided as we are made to believe. As some world leaders would like us to believe. Americans have fallen in love with, among others, the Tartan Army, a goalkeeper from Cape Verde and everything Norway. We have gotten deeply invested in Christian Pulisic's calf and what the many tiebreakers are to determine which third-place teams make the round of 32.
We are being reminded we have far more in common — a love of soccer and chaos — and any evidence of that is worth celebrating.
For months, the Pride game had been a source of unease. SeattleFWC26, the local organizers, had designated this as the Pride Game even before the draw. The LGBTQ community is one of the strongest threads in the fabric of both Seattle's identity and its soccer culture, and organizers wanted to honor that as the city celebrates Pride this weekend.
Then Iran and Egypt, two of the most hostile countries to LGBTQ people, were assigned to the Pride Game.
The federations of both countries howled in protest to FIFA, which did the right thing for once. The Pride Game was a local event, it said, and FIFA had no control over what local organizers did outside the stadium. FIFA also refused to ban Pride flags, saying they were welcome inside the stadium so long as they did not also have political messages.
Egypt and Iran continued to make their displeasure known, and there were fears they would stage some sort of protest. Or their fans would disrupt the game somehow.
And none of it came to pass. Whatever grumblings there were, private or public, the soccer always outweighs all.
"Our religion doesn't accept that, but we respect all of the LGBT people," Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi said. "It's not about us. We are here to play football. We respect all of those guys."
Soccer is called the beautiful game because of its simplicity and elegance. But it is also beautiful because it's the world's one great unifier.
It is played all over the world, by people of all shapes, sizes, genders, colors and creeds. It does not matter whether you are rich or poor or what your political leanings are. So long as you have a ball, or something that passes for it, you can play.
Soccer is for everybody. For all the concerns there were for this Pride Game, it turned out to be the perfect reminder of that.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
Source: USA Today
