Political tensions have been high between the United States and Iran for more than half a century, but to some football fans gearing up to watch the two nations face off at the World Cup, the beautiful game rises above politics.
American-Iranian Shervin Sharifi, 31, is a die-hard football fan who collects football shirts as a hobby. His collection so far spans 107 shirts, from various clubs to national teams. Approximately 40 to 45 of those are from the Iranian national team alone.
“You can say that I am kind of addicted. This is my life. This is what I live for,” Sharifi told Al Jazeera, his voice already coarse from three days of cheering at the games.
He and his friends travelled from Dallas, Texas, to support “Team Melli”, the Iranian national team, including at the USA vs Iran match on Tuesday, where the stakes could not be higher.
After Iran’s 2-0 win over Wales and the 0-0 tie between the USA and England, the Americans need to win tonight’s match to advance to the knock-out stages of the tournament, while the Iranians may only need a draw. Only one of them can go through from Group B. This will be the second time the two teams face off in a World Cup.
“I can tell you this for sure — the Iranian players have more passion for this game because they’re not just playing for themselves to be a success; they have 80 million people to make happy at home. That’s a lot of weight on your shoulders,” he told Al Jazeera while standing in Doha’s Souq Waqif market.
Sharifi said that he recognised that the game represents more than just football for many and that there have been protests during games and elsewhere.
Shervin Sharifi standing in front of a shop in Doha, Qatar.
‘Do I think this game is going to be another historical moment? Yes I do, because I believe the [Iran team] are gonna come out and give it all they can,’ Shervin Sharifi said
“I’m not saying [the USA team] is not as passionate, but [it’s been] 43 years of this kind of a stranglehold on a country,” he said, referring to the Islamic Republic coming into power following the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
“When [the Iranian team] steps on that field, they’re not just playing for a game. They’re playing for change.”
For Sharifi, the match between the US and Iran holds a special significance since he first fell in love with football when the two teams faced off during the 1998 World Cup match in Lyon, France. He remembers watching Iran beat the US team 2-1 when he was seven with his father, who immigrated from Iran with his mother.
