We Did More in 90 Minutes than Politicians Did in 20 Years: Historic Iran-US Meeting at World Cup 1998

Today, on November 29th, at 23:00 in Qatar, one of the most anticipated matches of the 2022 World Cup will take place, where the national teams of the USA and Iran will meet. The game attracts attention due to the long-standing conflict between the two countries.

Iran and the USA had a memorable meeting during the 1998 World Cup. Despite years of economic isolation, Iran has quietly participated in World Cups, including matches against the USA. The only time the teams faced each other in a World Cup was in 1998. The match was one of the most discussed and awaited during that tournament.

According to FIFA regulations, in each World Cup match, national teams are classified as team A and team B. In this game, team B was Iran, who had to approach team A for a pre-match handshake. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a clear directive that the Iranian team should not greet the Americans. FIFA negotiated with the US team, and as a result, the Americans were the first to approach the Iranians for a handshake.

During the pre-match ceremony, Iranian players presented American players with white roses as a symbol of peace.

Ultimately, Iran achieved a historic victory, their first ever in World Cup history. Midfielder Hamid Estili opened the scoring in the 40th minute, and Mehdi Mahdavikia doubled the Asian team's lead in the 84th minute. The USA scored one goal three minutes later, but Iran held on to secure their victory.

'We did more in 90 minutes than politicians did in 20 years,' said former US national team defender Jeff Agoos.