5 most politically influenced matches in World Cup history

#3 USA vs. Iran, 1998

Iranian fans held up political messages in their victory

This match is often touted as the 'most politically charged game in World Cup history.' The Iranian revolution took place in 1979 which ousted Mohammad Reza Shah, who had the tremendous backing of the USA.

Since then the relations between the nations were quite hostile, and they were ominously drawn in Group F in the 1998 World Cup.

The first of many problems was that Iran was Team B and the USA were team A. This meant that the Iranians would have had to walk to shake hands before kickoff. However Iranian leader Khamenei ordered that his players should not walk, instead, their opponents should. Eventually, the Americans agreed to comply.

A bigger problem was in the stands however as an Iraqi terrorist organization had bought 7,000 tickets to stage a protest. Orders had to be given to the cameramen to avoid the banners and offensive messages.

The match kicked off and Iran ran out 2-1 winners, eliminating the USA from the tournament to spark wild celebrations. But the match was a boon for their relations, as Iran gave each USA player a white flower as a sign of friendship.

"We did more in 90 minutes than the politicians did in 20 years," quipped USA defender Jeff Agoos after the match.