It was peaceful, friendly even. It was historic. And, for Iran, it was glorious.
The Iranians made their first World Cup victory as sweet as could be, vanquishing the United States 2-1 Sunday and eliminating the Americans from the tournament."It was a big victory for the Iranian nation, not because it was the United States, but because it was the first in the World Cup," said Talebi, who has a home in California, where he has lived off and on with his Iranian wife and three sons.
"It is a difficult defeat, but I'm very proud of the way we played," U.S. coach Steve Sampson said. "We fought until the end. We created so many chances, but we couldn't finish them."
So they are finished in this tournament, 0-2 with a game to go, but down there with such World Cup newcomers as Japan and Jamaica.
They expected so much more.
"It's not easy. It kind of sits in your stomach," U.S. midfielder Claudio Reyna said. "It's a bad feeling."
Before the game, it was feel-good time as the starting lineups of both teams posed for a joint picture instead of the usual separate team photos - as requested by FIFA on Fair Play Day. Iranian starters gave their U.S. counterparts white flowers, and the Americans in turn gave them USSF pennants. Iran presented U.S. captain Thomas Dooley with a silver-colored plate.
In the other games Sunday, Argentina routed Jamaica 5-0 and Germany rallied to tie Yugoslavia 2-2.
A policeman was in a coma after clashes with German soccer fans outside the game with Yugoslavia in Lens. The officer was hit on the head with an iron bar by a German fan, who was arrested.
About 86 German soccer fans were detained, many of them skinheads. Regional prefect Daniel Cadoux said they were "perfectly organized, with means of communication. They didn't come to support their team. They came to smash things up, to attack security forces."
In addition to Jamaica and Japan also being ousted from the tournament Sunday, two South African players and the South Korea coach are gone.
Brendan Augustine, a starter, and substitute Naughty Mokoena were kicked off the South African team after staying out until dawn Sunday. A security official with the team caught them leaving the training complex late Saturday night.
"We said it's not a mistake, it's defiance," said federation president Molefi Oliphant said.
South Korea never has won a World Cup game in five trips, and following a 5-0 loss to the Netherlands, coach Cha Bumkun was fired. Chun Hanjin, the team's assistant manager, said, "Somebody had to take responsibility. It ends right here, right now for him."
IRAN 2, UNITED STATES 1: Hamid Estili scored on a counterattack in the 40th minute. Mehdi Mahdavukia came through with a breakaway goal in the 83rd, setting off wild celebrations in Tehran.
The Americans had gone almost four straight World Cup games without a goal before Brian McBride put a header in off a defender in the 88th. Their lack of marksmanship destroyed any chance of beating the nation where, for nearly two decades, the United States had been called "The Great Satan."
"The first two, three minutes, we were pummeling them," Cobi Jones said. "Then there started to be a letdown after 15, 20 minutes and they started to get into the game."
The U.S. team, with a game left vs. Yugoslavia on Thursday, outshot the Iranians 27-15.
ARGENTINA 5, JAMAICA 0: Gabriel Batistuta took the tournament goal-scoring lead with four goals, getting a hat trick in 11 minutes of the second half after Ariel Ortega scored the first two goals. The Argentine victory also boosted Crotia, in its first World Cup, into the second round in Group H.
"We came to take the Cup," said Batistuta, who had Argentina's only goal in its opening win over Japan, "but there are other teams that will fight us hard for it. Even so, we'll give it our best shot."
GERMANY 2, YUGOSLAVIA 2: The game turned in Germany's favor when a free kick by Michael Tarnat from 25 yards struck sweeper Sinisa Mihajlovic's outstretched right foot and changed direction, giving goalkeeper Ivica Kralj no chance. Oliver Bierhoff, put in a powerful header in the 80th minute off a corner kick by Olaf Thon to tie it.
Until then, Yugoslavia seemed poised to beat Germany for the first time in 25 years.
"We made possible what seemed impossible," German coach Berti Vogts said. "We turned defeat into a near victory."