Iran was knocked out of the World Cup on Saturday, yet the government’s now calling it a victory.
Whether or not it’s the moral victory they say it is, a tidal wave of international support points to a plausible PR victory.
Iran’s football fate was sealed by two last-minute plot twists, earning them the BBC title of “Unluckiest team in World Cup history”.
But global commentators hit back hard: not “luck”, they said, but “sabotage” and “discrimination”.
Was Iran the unluckiest team in World Cup history – or the worst treated? And while the Iranian team lost the battle on the pitch, did they score a bigger victory on the geopolitical playing field?
Watch the latest episode of MEE Live below to find out.

