Infantino lends Iran his ear after Mohebi earns draw

During 101 minutes of action in Los Angeles, Iran were finally able to focus on football. The buildup had been unprecedented, messy and chaotic.

- Ben Fisher

But then, in the aftermath of an entertaining draw with New Zealand, Iran's captain, Mehdi Taremi, described their World Cup as a "disaster", explaining how the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, went into their dressing room to hear their concerns. The head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, labelled them the "most oppressed" team at the tournament after they were forced to return to Mexico after the game.

A charter flight from LAX was scheduled for 11pm local time. It was a lively end to a relatively drama-free occasion, despite pre-match protests and an underlying anxiety around how the team would be greeted by their own supporters. What, really, were the emotions flowing through their veins as they took to the pitch? A few hours earlier, Donald Trump, in France for the G7 summit, said a peace deal had been signed after almost four months of war. Infantino, who in effect recently admitted he is powerless to prevent the chaos that continues to plague Iran's preparations and overshadow their participation, was in the VIP seats.

Goals from Mohammad Mohebi and Ramin Rezaeian had cancelled out a smart Eli Just double. A partisan crowd provided the kind of joy Taremi conceded had been missing in recent weeks - for obvious reasons.