Shortly after 4pm in Los Angeles, the Iran team bus was led up South Prairie Avenue by an advance party of police motorcycles. It chugged up the hill, past a small group of supporters, before making a right turn toward the gates of ‘hell.’
That is what Amir Ghalenoei and his Iran players had been warned to expect at SoFi Stadium, the $5.5billion spaceship on the outskirts of LA that had been chosen for this fraught, highly-charged World Cup opener against New Zealand.
Never before had a World Cup host nation been at war with one of its visitors. Ahead of this game, however, the biggest threat to Iran’s players appeared to be some exiles and compatriots living nearby. ‘We are going to make it hell,’ promised one of the many Iranian-Americans who oppose this team and the brutal regime they say it represents.
In the end, though? From the moment they emerged from the tunnel, Iran’s players were greeted by deafening cheers from the majority of fans inside SoFi Stadium. There were Mexican waves but little hostility. In fact, no one troubled them more than Elijah Just, the New Zealand winger who scored twice as the All Whites upset the odds to secure a 2-2 draw.
When all the chaos and controversy finally gave way to soccer, New Zealand – the lowest-ranked team in this bloated World Cup – took the lead twice, only to be pegged back by goals from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebbi.
Both those equalizers sparked wild celebrations from many of the 70,000 fans here but among the diaspora around this city? Mixed emotions. Up in the stands of SoFi, meanwhile, FIFA president Gianni Infantino must have breathed a huge sigh of relief. This had all the ingredients to be yet another World Cup nightmare.
Protestors gather outside SoFi Stadium ahead of Iran’s World Cup clash with New Zealand
Elijah Just scored twice for New Zealand in the Group G match near Los Angeles on Monday
Up to 35,000 protestors were predicted to turn up, bussed in from ‘Tehrangeles’ and across California, armed with flags from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution and a songbook of anti-government chants.
They vowed to protest Tehran’s deadly crackdown on dissent earlier this year, when thousands were killed. They promised to boo the national anthem and turn their backs. They hoped Iran would lose.
Well, many did gather outside SoFi and make their opposition clear. Many did defy FIFA, too, by sneaking ‘Lion and Sun’ emblems inside. The Iranian government had warned that would be enough for games to be halted. That never came to pass, either.
SoFi Stadium is only a 15-minute drive from Iran’s hotel in Manhattan Beach but this team’s path to the 2026 World Cup began long before they touched down in LA. That short flight from Tijuana on Sunday represented only the final leg of a turbulent, months-long journey dominated by tension and mayhem.
Since war broke out with Israel and the United States in February, uncertainty has reigned: Where would their games be held? Would the team even turn up?
Donald Trump warned them not to – for their ‘own life and safety’ – and the buildup to this opening game was marred by threats and mudslinging. Iran moved its base from Arizona to Mexico; nearly a dozen members of its delegation were denied visas; Iran officials sent FIFA a list of conditions before agreeing to play. All while war raged back home.
Ahead of kickoff at SoFi Stadium, all-but one of Iran’s players had sung their national anthem
Ramin Rezaeian (right) scored a first-half equalizer for Iran after they fell behind on Monday
It hardly got any smoother after the team arrived in LA, which boasts the biggest diaspora of Iranians outside the country. Players faced protest outside their hotel and their open training session, with many in ‘Tehrangeles’ accusing the team of being a propaganda arm of the regime.
Even after a peace deal was announced on Sunday, the uncertainty continued. Right up until a few hours before kickoff, when FIFA beat a lawsuit that attempted overturn its ban on pre-revolutionary flags.
By the time fans began streaming inside SoFi, that court case felt rather futile. There were pre-Revolutionary flags everywhere and the attitude of stadium staff was neatly summed up when one couple passed through the turnstiles before being stopped by security.
They were told they could not bring flag sticks inside. So the female fan simply removed the flags from their handles. No one cared that they carried a lion and sun. The fans were waved into the ground, flags in hand.
Shortly after, all but one of Iran’s players sang their national anthem. The exception – ex-Brentford star Saman Ghoddos – put his hand over his heart. Then a soccer game broke out.
Signs around SoFi Stadium advised fans to arrive early for this Group G clash and tens of thousands obliged. What was curious, however, was how many were dressed. It was a kaleidoscope of jerseys. Among them? Arsenal, England, Mexico, Jamaica, Colombia, China, Brazil… and Brighton.
Perhaps they were simply neutrals hoping for a chance to watch some World Cup soccer. But this seemed a curious choice – a game that appeared to be simmering close to boiling point long before kickoff.
There had, after all, been warnings of mass protests. And there were pockets of demonstrations – outside one corner of the ground, some fans sold merchandise featuring pre-revolutionary symbols while, nearby, others chanted about a ‘team of terrorists’ and waved flags in support of the US, Israel and Trump.
Many Iranian-Americans around Los Angeles do not believe this team represents its people
Mohammad Mohebbi equalized for Iran in the second half to ensure this game finished 2-2
One protestor held up a sign that carried pictures of Ghalenoei’s players. Their faces were crossed out with red tape and the caption was made to look as if it was dripping in blood. It read: ‘IRGC TEAM,’ a reference to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
As for those who came to cheer on this Iran team? They were branded ‘terrorist sympathisers’ and ‘supporters [of] the regime that murdered Iranians.’
But tens of thousands of Iranians ignored their cries and made a racket inside SoFi Stadium instead. Every attack sparked deafening cheers; both equalizers nearly took the roof of this place.
Ghalenoei said on the eve of this match that he hoped all the disruption would not impact his players’ performance. We will never really know what impact it had. All that became clear here?
Iran will need to be better than this to beat Belgium and Egypt in their final two group games. What a shame, then, that one of the country’s top goalscorers is not in this World Cup squad.
Sardar Azmoun was reportedly expelled from the national team after posting a picture on social media of a meeting with Dubai’s ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. So much for keeping politics out of sports.
