Shaimaa Khalil

I don't think I ever remember a team that has come into a World Cup

carrying so much political baggage.

And at every stage of that match, you could feel that baggage inside and outside the stadium.

So I was standing next to a woman and she said that when the Iranian anthem, the official Iranian anthem was played, she cried.

She got really emotional.

And she was very clear she doesn't support the government, she doesn't support the regime.

In fact, she said, you know, my mother is still in Iran.

I want to go visit her and I'm still scared.

And so it's very clear where she stands politically, where she stands as a football fan and as someone who loves her country.

She got really emotional when it was played.

Funny, though, you should mention the anthem because just outside the stadium, again, the soundscape was fascinating because as part of the protest, they played the pre-Iranian Islamic Revolution anthem, the anthem of the Shah time.

And so, again, it just felt like there were two Iranian sentiments playing out.