Major World Cup win for Team USA, Iran goes home amid political tension

WISCONSIN (CBS 58 News) -- A monumental victory for Team USA Tuesday in the highly anticipated match against Iran in Qatar's World Cup tournament, and a lot of local Wisconsinites sported their favorite Team USA gear at pubs across the state, in support of the national team.

The final score: 1-0 US v. Iran. Team USA will now play against the Netherlands on Dec. 3 and Iran is eliminated from the World Cup.

Many locals expressed they had mixed emotions--feeling nervous and excited-- as neither country has won a World Cup before.

The highly anticipated match decided who advanced on to the knockout stage. On the other hand, the political implications tied to Iran also made this match a must-see.

"The fact that this regime is killing a lot of people, right now, as we speak, more than 640 people have been killed, more than 30,000 people have been arrested, some of whom have been sentenced to death," said Iranian political activist Ali Soltani, member of the Iranian American Community of Wisconsin.

Outrage in Iran and across the globe began in September when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini became a symbol for change after she was violently beaten to death by the morality police for not wearing her hijab or head cover properly.

Since then, Iran has been at the forefront for its political unrest back home, as women continue to protest for basic human rights in the Islamic Republic. That's why Soltani said this time around, he's rooting for team USA.

"It's like Hitler... what is it, like 1936 or something, used the Olympics to, to promote itself...countries always do that," he said.

The Iranian soccer team opted not to sing their own national anthem before its first game, and the U.S. soccer team also made a statement this past weekend, briefly displaying an altered Iranian flag on social media to show support for the protesters. Iran then called on FIFA to kick the team out of the tournament.

"This team is not representative of the people in Iran, so people do not support them," added Soltani.

Iran famously beat the U.S. back in a 1998 World Cup match in France that eliminated Team USA from the tournament. It’s the only match the two countries played against each other.