Iran still salty over World Cup treatment, trolls USMNT after its exit

Iran’s national team is trolling the U.S. men’s national team after its World Cup exit, underscoring the fallout from earlier matches. In a social media story, Iran’s Team Melli highlighted the results of both games involving Belgium, Iran, and the USMNT. Iran and Belgium finished 0-0 in the group stage, while Belgium later defeated the Americans 4-1 in the round of 16 on Monday, July 16. The post, captioned “Dance with me!” with a similar message in Farsi, comes amid longstanding U.S.-Iran government tensions. During the tournament, U.S. restrictions limited Iran’s movement: the team was forced to shift its base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, at the last minute, and delays affected arrivals and departures around Los Angeles matches. Mehdi Taremi said, “Football have to be apart (from) a politician.” Iran were also eliminated after seven straight World Cup knockout appearances, failing to advance when Algeria and Austria progressed in the final group game in Seattle.