Apropos the (then upcoming) Iran vs USA game,
AFP recently listed the most politically fraught matches in World Cup history. To summarize:
- Mussolini's 'Blackshirts': France v Italy, 1938
- Cold War battle: East Germany v West Germany, 1974
- Maradona's moment: England v Argentina, 1986
- Say it with flowers: Iran v USA, 1998
- An eagle lands: Switzerland v Serbia, 2018