The USA players showed their class as they comforted their Iran counterparts after knocking them out of the World Cup.
Carlos Queiroz’s side only needed to draw to progress to the knockout stages, but ended up losing 1-0 thanks to a Christian Pulisic goal.
There were emotional scenes after the match with many of the Iran players in tears as their World Cup journey came to an end.
This match was more than just about football with the two countries having tense political relationships.
There were barrage of questions directed at the players in press conferences over politics, with USA and Leeds star Tyler Adams in particular receiving praise for how he handled hostile questions from an Iranian journalist.
The players put that all to one side and left it all on the pitch and there were some brilliant scenes after the final whistle.
The USA players were seen hugging and comforting the Iranians.
Saeid Ezatolahi appeared emotional before Timothy Weah, Josh Sargent and Brenden Aaronson went over to speak to him.
There were also many more images showing the USA players hugging the Iranians after the final whistle.
“I think it’s more than just football,” Weah told FOX. “I think the United States and Iran have had so many issues politically and I just wanted to show that we are all human beings and we all love each other.
“I just wanted to spread peace and love and show him we come from different backgrounds, we grew up differently. He is still my family, he is still my brother and I love him the same way as the guys I grew up with.”
“I just really feel for any team,” Josh Sargent added. “Obviously it’s a big tournament, no matter who it was, seeing people upset like that touches me in a different way. It was on my way to where the team was anyway, so I thought I’d say something nice and encouraging.
“Everybody is human, obviously. We’ve all been working our a**** off to get to this important point of our lives. This is the pinnacle of everybody’s career. I know it is not an easy situation when you lose.”
The USA progressed to the knockout stages of the World Cup and will play the Netherlands in the last-16 – live on talkSPORT on Saturday.
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Source link: https://talksport.com/football/1262100/usa-players-hug-iran-world-cup-qatar/
