Unshaken Underdogs Share a Moment of Free-kick Magic

It’s a funny old game. The mighty La Roja tore away Saudi Arabia’s resistance to end the game as a contest within the first half an hour and without needing to enter second gear, but this day will still be rightfully remembered as a day of underdogs. Belgium and Uruguay were held to draws by Iran and Cape Verde, prompting some serious shake-up in the equations around qualification from the group stages.

It feels deeply tragic that Iran’s World Cup campaign had to come amidst a backdrop of war and destruction. It feels poignant, and also absurd, that Iran’s football team is playing World Cup matches in the USA.

This has been the first World Cup in history that saw a host country initiate and prolong a full-fledged, blatant war against another country that has qualified for the tournament. The treatment meted out to the Iranian football team is indicative of how brazenly the hosts continue to exercise their antipathy. The Iranian players are not leaving the grounds after the match as much as they are being evacuated away within a harshly stipulated short time-frame.

In some way, every game Iran plays in this World Cup makes one cast their mind back to the horrific, chilling visuals of death, death and more death that this war has subjected society to. It’s a heavy burden. Football, ostensibly all about escape, offers us an imperfect but cherished prism through which to look at that burden. It cannot alleviate such burdens. But in the best of moments, football can harness the magical bond between burdened souls.

Such a moment happened during the match. The war has been full of instances of outright historical revisionism around events that have just happened. This moment in the match is about a goal that the stadium rocked with, players bathed in, only for the semi-automated offside technology to rule it out. The scoreboard momentarily showed 1-0 to Iran until it had to be revised. This revision was correct, though. But that does not mean the moment was any less special.

It was the twenty-fifth minute of the match. Belgium had the lion’s share of possession from the get-go. In a bit of foreshadowing, their attack was relentless but not quite effective. Iran had defended calmly and had carved out some big opportunities on the counter. It was De Cuyper’s arms that the ball hit when the referee blew for a free-kick to Iran from a few yards outside the box.

Ramin Rezaeian, a scorer and a provider in the match against New Zealand, stood at the ball with the full-back Ehsan Hajsafi beside him. Most expected Rezaeian to lash it hard but it was Hajsafi who befuddled the Belgian defence with a perfectly measured incisive pass. The veteran striker Mehdi Taremi collected the ball on the turn. His shot threw him to the ground and his side to a rupture. It was too far for even Courtois to reach.

The gallery erupted. Not only because Iran’s journey has been so storied, not only because the underdogs had snatched a lead, but because it was a beautiful piece of attacking play that enthrals and brings to mind parallels with the Netherlands’ last-minute goal in their quarter-final in Qatar or Zanetti’s finish against England in 1998.

In many ways, this moment fits into the World Cup canon. The score had to remain 0-0, but Cardus had called the scorecard a donkey for no reason.

The other splendid moment of the day came in the 21st minute of the match between Cape Verde and Uruguay in a free-kick from a very similar distance. Kevin Pina’s shot travelled at a speed and trajectory that delightfully tease the onlooker rather than going in before one starts comprehending the intricacies of. It’s a spectacular free-kick goal that warrants re-watch after re-watch.

Pina’s strike was Cape Verde’s first goal in the World Cup. After shutting out an incessant Spain, they had struck first against two-time winners. They proved that the Spain match wasn’t a one-off. Debutants Cape Verde can consistently go toe-to-toe with top-level opponents and very well extend their stay at the World Cup.

The celebrations matched their on-pitch verve. It was a breathtaking moment. Cape Verde has announced itself on the world stage a number of times by now, but never has the announcement been this mesmerising in technique and aesthetics.

Cape Verde occupies third place in their group, but they will have a really good shot at improving that in their final group game against Saudi Arabia. They had shown their resilience in fending off the possibility of setbacks in the first match and a more heroic capacity to deal with them in the second. Their opponents, Uruguay, look mediocre at best.

Iran and Cape Verde are yet to lose in this tournament. Both look like mature sides with a good dose of tournament know-how. Cape Verde had as many as 12 shots, and despite outperforming their xG, Uruguay underperformed; it will be difficult to frame Cape Verde as merely fortunate. Iran’s defending had been excellent, and their goalkeeper had a busy but memorable night. They leave Los Angeles with a point and a handwritten note of gratitude and friendship.

Belgium were, in a nutshell, disappointing. Their performance did not drop after being forced to play a man down due to Ngoy’s dismissal with a quarter of a match to play. But such praise rings hollow as they find themselves 3rd in a relatively easy group G with one round of matches to go.

Leading group G is Egypt, having claimed their first-ever FIFA World Cup win by overcoming New Zealand. New Zealand could have made this day more memorable for the less-fancied sides. They took the lead in the 15th minute and did not let it go until almost the hour mark. But Egypt scored thrice in a twenty-five-minute stretch to put the game to bed.

Salah’s first goal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup came via a delightful one-two, but it could scarcely shine brighter than a free-kick where a goal was scored fleetingly and another where a goal was scored for eternity.