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IRAN, THE team that turned Ally McLeod's Scottish soldiers into a Mickey Mouse army at the World Cup 20 years ago and then broke the hearts of Terry Venables' Australian Socceroos last winter, ended the latest revival of the American dream in Lyon at France 98.
Hamid Estili, a veteran midfielder from Tehran's top club Bahman but fancied by Austria's Rapid Vienna, put a thumping header past Leicester's United States goalkeeper Kasey Keller five minutes before half-time to seemingly settle an emotional evening at the Stade Gerland. And dogged defending which bordered at times on obstinacy after the break looked enough to see the Iranians through to their first-ever win in the finals until a sting in this incredible tale during the last seven minutes.
Medhi Mahdavikia broke free from the mayhem that had become almost exclusively contained in Iran's under-siege penalty area to defeat Keller with a cool cross shot of pin-point accuracy into the far corner. The celebrations started among the Iranians who dominated the seats and surrounds of the stadium in France's second-biggest city with their sheer joy and goodwill. But their team, only the third best in Asia, had to run one more gauntlet in what seemed interminably injury time after Brian McBride squeezed home an 87th minute shot for the Americans. But that goal at the death was not enough to save the United States, who are resigned to an early trip home having been outclassed by Germany a week ago.
Their ambition coming to France had been to emulate the second round qualification achieved four years ago when the World Cup was held in America. They wanted to show that soccer in the sports-mad land dominated by basketball, baseball and gridiron still has a future for mass appeal But now Steve Sampson's squad will go home to face jibes that the game at international level there is no further forward than when they first entered the World Cup 60 years ago.
For Iran, though, this was the dawn of a new footballing nation. They made their World Cup return by qualifying on away goals in a two-leg decider with Australia after both games were drawn and they trailed 2-0 in the second. In fact, Iran won none of their last six games in the complicated procedure which produced qualifiers from the Asian and Oceania sections. And to be fair to the Americans, they retained that same sort of good fortune in Lyon.
Sampson's team, depressed by their dismal performance against the Germans, went on an all-out attack with two wingers and the bulky McBride-supporting main striker Roy Wegerle, the former Coventry, Chelsea, QPR and Blackburn front man, now 34. They hit the woodwork three times in the first half, twice by McBride and once by Claudio Reyna, their most accomplished player, who plies his trade in Germany with Wolfisburg. But it was Iran urged on by their fans who outnumbered the Americans about 9-1, who made the vital breakthrough when Estili discovered acres of space in which to fashion an unstoppable header from Javad Zarincheh perfectly weighted cross.
The Americans came out with even more fight in the second half, plunged on three substitutes and encamped in the Iranian penalty box. But they could not break the rugged, red line until it was too late.
By the time McBride had driven his shot through a familiar crowd of defenders in the six yard area to just about sneak across the line, Mahdavikia had already added Iran's second in that lightning breakaway. And when he was needed most goalkeeper Ahmad Abedzadeh, the captain who was kept out by injury from the first match, produced a heroic save.
An American equaliser had looked certain when Frankie Hejduk popped up four yards from goal to crash a shot on the volley from Reyna's penetrating cross but somehow the goalkeeper kept it out. It made up for the misfortune which Iran had suffered even before their first goal when Keller got away with a desperate dive that brought down striker Khodadad Azizi just inside the box - amazingly ignored by Swiss referee Urs Meier, who later booked Zarincheh for taking too much time in leaving the field when substituted.
After being the only team in the competition to escape a yellow card in their first match, Iran picked up four to mirror the intensity of their backs-to-the-wall fight but they will have considered it well worth it for a night that will live on for decades in the nations memory.
USA (0) 1 Iran (1) 2
USA: Keller (7), Dooley (8) (Maisonneuve (6) 82), Pope (7), Regis (7), Ramos (6) (Stewart (6) 58), Reyna (8), Jones (6), Hejduk (7), Moore (6), McBride (7), Wegerle (6) (Radosavljevic (6) 58). Subs Not Used: Friedel, Sommer, Agoos, Burns, Balboa, Lalas, Deering, Wynalda.
Booked: Regis.
Goals: McBride 87.
Iran: Abedzadeh (7), Khakpour (7), Zarincheh (6) (Saadavi (6) 78), Paschazadeh (7), Mohammadkhani (6) (Peyravani (6) 76), Estili (7), Mahdavikia (9), Minavand (7), Bagheri (8), Azizi (7) (Mansourian (6) 74), Dai (7). Subs Not Used: Nakissa, Boromand, Ostad-Asadli, Din-Mohammadi, Hamedani, Seraj, Latifi.
Booked: Minavand, Zarincheh.
Goals: Estili 40, Mahdavikia 84.
Att: 43,500 (crowd rating: 7)
Ref: U Meier (Switzerland) 8.
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HUNDREDS DANCE IN STREETS OF CAPITAL
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HUNDREDS of jubilant Iranians danced in the streets of Teheran after the final whistle to the tune of blaring car horns. State TV replayed highlights of past Iran victories none, of course, in the World Cup finals until the historic defeat of America.
The mood of conciliation between the two former enemies, meanwhile, reached as far as the post-match press conferences as Iran coach Jalal Talebi told USA boss Steve Sampson: "I congratulate you Mr Sampson, we had fewer chances but we scored the goals and you didn't and that's why we won the game.
He added: "Technically they were over us and dominated most of the game. They deserved to win too, but at the end of the game only one team can win and it was our chance to be the winning team.
"I knew it was a very sensitive game and I knew that we were going to play hard with an opponent that wanted to win and it wasn't going to be an easy game. I am very happy for all the Iranians and all the people involved in football in Iran and all the people in Iran. I know they are very happy.
Sampson said of his eliminated side: "I am proud of the team but maybe it is time to rethink our play at this level. We did what we set out to do - attack and get behind their defence, I think we achieved that goal. For the entire match we played to win. Certainly we took risks to get the win.
"You have got to give Iran credit. In the first half they forced us to take risks and they were able to get the second when we were pushing forward. They were able to defend well and counter-attack when we were pushing more players into our attack. I must give them complete credit for the victory and I congratulate them.
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News 8 
