World Cup Diary | Day Nine

Day 9: Cameroon v Serbia, South Korea v Ghana, Brazil v Switzerland, and Portugal v Uruguay

A couple of days ago, while promoting their crunch final match, the United States Men's teams social media accounts posted their two nations flags, but on Iran's flag, they had removed the Islamic Republic crest. In the press conference on day 9, Carlos Quieroz, Irans coach was asked about that. The most telling part of his answer sums football up, he said:

"I was born in a place in Africa. Some of you know my background. You don't know what one simple ball can do for kids who sometimes for one or two days don't eat. They don't have nothing to dress. And when we stop our cars, we open the cars and we put one ball in those parks. And you cannot imagine the magic moment that happens in the faces of kids and from sadness they change in one fraction to a smile. This is our mission."

You don't know what one simple ball can do for kids. One simple ball.

Football can get so confused, so messy, so complex, when entwined with geopolitics and the struggles between peoples, their rights, their governments and other nations.

In 1980, after Iran's Islamic revolution the previous year, the US backed an invasion of the country by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. The subsequent 8 year war extolled a brutal cost on the Iranian people, with half a million dead or wounded.

So when the US and Iran met, ten years after the end of the war, at France 98, some were calling it “The most politically charged match in World Cup history”. The Iran coach at that time, Jalal Talebi, shares similarities to current Iran coach, Carlos Quieroz. Talebi grew up in Tehran, the city where the Dasht-e Kavir, the Great Salt desert meets the Alborz mountains, before the Mountains meet the Caspian sea. Kicking around on old rubber ball on those streets, Talebi's first World Cup memory was of 1966 and he idolised Bobby Charlton.

The US players had security detail on arrival in France, and the French FFF and FIFA played down potential threats. All the same, plain-clothed police officers were at US training sessions and in their hotel.

During the pre-game ceremony, each Iranian player presented their US counterparts with bouquets of flowers, and the two teams posed together in a combined photo.

“We are all people. We are not enemies..” said Talebi, “..we weren't there to fight. We were there to play sport”

When Iran scored two unanswered goals, they made history that day 24 years ago, it was Iran's first ever World Cup win. “The people in my country have never forgotten that night and how they danced in the streets until early morning” that was Talebi again.

And from the US perspective, Jeff Agoos said at the time: “We did more in 90 minutes than the politicians did in 20 years”.

Instead of heightening tensions, that game did, at least for a few years, bring the two nations closer together. Such is the power of football. This is why it makes no sense when people say, “stick to the football and leave politics out of it”. The game, the people playing it, the nations competing, and their trials and stories, are all woven together. From the a football game played in a brief truce, on Christmas day 1914, on no-man's-land between British and German forces, or the game which sparked a war between El Salvador and Honduras in 1970, to Quieroz's story of giving a football to a group of poor children who have nothing, football changes the world.

Onto the football then. And two of the best games in the Finals so far lit up day 9, with two African teams, Cameroon and Ghana, involved in two entertaining performances.

First up Cameroon against Serbia in a game that swung both ways. After Cameroon took the lead, Serbia fought back before with two goals in 1^st half injury time to take a lead into half-time. And a brilliant team goal, finished off by Aleksander Mitrovic, 8 minutes into the 2^nd half, put Serbia 3-1 up and cruising.

But inspired substitute Vincent Aboubakar would change all that. In 3 minutes he made a scoop of genius to lob the goalkeeper after beating the offside trap, and another wonderful run and assist had brought his team level. The lob was reminiscent of Karel Poborský's chip in Euro 96, if anything it was better. And though the VAR call was tight, the praying Cameroon fans in the stands had their wishes granted. Cameroon and Serbia both still alive in these Finals.

South Korea and Ghana up next. The Koreans were on top early but fell behind to two first half goals from Ghana. Both goals scored from crosses, a theme of this match. 2-0 down at half time, and a mountain to climb for the Koreans. But just like Ghana had in the first half, the Koreans had great success getting the ball into the mixer. Two goals in three minutes from Gue-Sung Cho brought the Koreans level.

But Ghana had a different script in mind. Another cross, this time low, bobbled to the back post after a terrible scuffed shot from Inaki Williams, which will go down as a most undeserving assist, fell to Mohammed Kudus to drive in low for his second and Ghana's third.

It would always be tough for the final two games of the day to match the first two for excitement, comebacks and goals. Switzerland set up knowing that if they committed too many in attack, Brazil's skillful players could easily exploit them on the counter. Instead, they made it as difficult as possible for Brazil to play to their strengths, and their game plan almost worked.

But for Casemiro, an unlikely scorer given the array of talent on display for Brazil, incluing their substitutes, Switzerland would have had the point they sought. 1-0 Brazil then and they joined France in qualifying for the knockout stages.

Qualifying for the knockout round would also be the prize for Portugal should they have beaten Uruguay in the days final game. But it wasn't just team goals on Cristiano Ronaldo's mind. Ronaldo is one goal away from equalling Eusebio's World Cup tally for Portugal of nine goals at Finals. So when Bruno Fernandes cross came close to Ronaldo's head, the unemployed striker claimed the record-breaking goal.

Replays didn't seem to show any deviation and it appears that Ronaldo was claiming something that wasn't his. The goal was given to Fernandes and the player who is still employed by Manchester United, could have had four. Hitting the post and being denied the match ball by the Uruguay goalkeeper Sergio Rochet.

Portugal through then. But the incident that took the headlines was a pitch invader. Wearing a shirt with the superman logo on the front accompanied by the text: “SAVE UKRAINE” and on the back of the shirt the text read: “RESPECT FOR IRANIAN WOMEN”. He was swinging a rainbow flag around his head.

The pitch invader is an Italian footballer who plays for second-division Indian side United Sports Club but is a humanitarian campaigner. Mario Ferri, known as 'The Falcon', has recently been in Ukraine, driving refugees to safety in Poland.

Ferri has a history of pitch invasions, previous campaigns included “Save the children of favelas” which he rose awareness to in pitch invasions in South America and italy as well as at the 2014 World cup in Brazil.

Portugal player Ruben Neves came out in support of the Ferri after the game, “We hope nothing happens to the boy because we undersand his message and I think all the world understood as well”.

For people who feel hopeless, and in situations were they feel they are alone and have no support, especially against unbelievable oppression, statements, no matter how small, especially in the football world, can bring such hope and inspiration. Quieroz's one simple ball is not simply itself, but a metaphor.