Biden announces USA soccer win over Iran: ’They did it, God love ‘em’
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President Joe Biden on Tuesday appeared to have finished speaking at the SK Siltron CSS microchip factory in Bay City, Michigan when he returned to the lectern to celebrate a bit of good news.
Picking up the handheld microphone he’d set down roughly 20 minutes before, he told the crowd who’d gathered to hear him of the US men’s soccer team’s 1-0 victory over Iran.
“The US one, Iran zero! The game’s over!” he said.
As chants of “USA! USA!” broke out in celebration of the win, Mr Biden added: “That’s a big game, man”.
He recounted how players and national team coach Gregg Berhalter had exhibited a lackluster response when he’d spoken to them earlier this week before the US opened group play at the World Cup in Qatar.
“When I spoke to the coach and the players, I said, ‘You can do this.’ They went ‘eh,’” he said.
Speaking of their minutes-old victory, the president added: “They did it, God love ’em”.
The US side needed a win to garner the three points needed to break into the round of 16 from their place in the Group B standings behind England. They took the lead after US captain Christian Pulisic scored the lone goal of the match, though he left the pitch soon after with an injury from a collision with the Iranian goaltender.
The must-win match between US and Iran followed a number of rows between the sides, with Iranian state media reporters questioning Mr Berhalter about US military posture in the Middle East at a pre-match press conference, and his counterpart Carlos Queiroz taking his own shot at the US by speaking of “human rights, racism and kids dying in schools with shootings” at his own press conference.
The US soccer federation also drew calls for the American team to be excluded from the tournament after removing the Islamic Republic emblem from the Iranian flag in a social media post to “show support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights”.
Tuesday’s result was a reversal of the last time Iran and US met in a World Cup, a 1998 match that saw Iran beat the Americans 2-1.
Sports editor Ben Burrows contributed reporting from Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar
U.S. players celebrate after their win.Ricardo Mazalan / APUnited States fans celebrate.Alex Grimm / Getty Images
No word yet on the status of Christian Pulisic going forward
Christian Pulisic receives medical treatment after scoring their side’s first goal against Iran on Nov. 29, 2022, in Doha.Dean Mouhtaropoulos / Getty Images
The health of American goal scorer Christian Pulisic was not known in the moments after the United States’ 1-0 victory over Iran.
U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter said his star’s status was unknown. The team has fewer than 96 hours to prepare for its round-of-16 game against the Netherlands on Saturday.
“No update on his status,” the coach said. “I’ve been saying all along, it’s a wonderful thing when one of your best players is also one of the hardest working, and he’s certainly that. I can’t say enough positive things about Christian.”
The follically challenged Berhalter said the final moments of the match were almost too much to handle.
“I think I have less hair on my head now, but we’ll take it and we’ll move on,” he said.
Biden celebrates USA’s win: ‘That’s a big game, man!’
BAY CITY, Mich. — After finishing his speech Tuesday afternoon at a manufacturing plant, President Joe Biden worked the rope line, shaking hands, and then returned to the podium with an unexpected announcement: “U.S. 1 — Iran Zero. Game is over.”
The crowd of workers at SK Siltron CSS started chanting, “U.S.A.!”
“You got it,” Biden said. “That’s a big game, man! … God love ’em.”
He then left the podium and went back to shaking hands.
United States survives a late Iranian challenge
Iran nearly drew a penalty in one of the final kicks of the United States’ thrilling 1-0 victory.
Mehdi Taremi went down under pressure from Cameron Carter-Vickers but still pushed the ball through past U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner, as it rolled toward the U.S. goal before a last-moment clearance by Walker Zimmerman.
Iranian players and coaches screamed for a penalty to be called against Carter-Vickers for putting a hand on Taremi’s shoulders.
But officials ruled that contact wasn’t enough for a whistle.
Final: United States 1, Iran 0
Tim Weah of the United States, right, celebrates with teammates after their win over Iran.Manu Fernandez / AP
Christian Pulisic’s goal late in the first half gave the United States a dramatic 1-0 victory over Iran in Qatar on Tuesday, sending America through to World Cup knockout action.
With this do-or-die win at Al Thumama Stadium in Al Khor, the United States finished in second place of Group B play with five points.
The Americans advanced to round-of-16 play and will play Group A winner Netherlands at 10 a.m. EST Saturday at Khalifa International Stadium in Al Rayyan.
The Three Lions won Group B with a dominating second-half effort against the Dragons.
United States 9 minutes to advancing
Officials added 9 minutes of stoppage time as the United States held a tenuous 1-0 lead over Iran.
Only a victory would put America through to knockout play.
Should Iran score an equalizer in the next 9 minutes, the United States would be sent home short of the round of 16.
England well on its way to round of 16
Marcus Rashford scored his second goal of the match, as England took a 3-0 lead over Wales and had knockout play well within its grasp.
The Three Lions, the likely Group B champs, would play Sunday against Senegal in the round of 16.
Three Lions roar out of the halftime changing room: England leads Wales 2-0
Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden scored in the first six minutes of the second half as England took a commanding, 2-0, lead over Wales.
An England victory would lock up first place in Group B for the Three Lions.
Christian Pulisic out of the match
American goal scorer Christian Pulisic was substituted out of the match at halftime.
Pulisic fell hard into the Iranian goal after scoring to give the United Sates a 1-0 lead. He was briefly sidelined as the Americans played with 10 men in the moments after his goal.
The U.S. starter was taken out in favor of Brenden Aaronson.
Live standings: England leading Group B if current scores stand
With the United States leading, 1-0, and English scoreless against Wales at halftime, here are the live standings:
1. England — 5 points (+4 goal differential)
2. USA — 5 points (+1)
3. Iran — 3 points (-3)
3. Wales — 2 points (-2)
Tim Weah called offside wiping out a second possible goal
The United States was an inch away from taking a commanding two-goal lead into halftime, but Timothy Weah was ruled offside.
Weah, the Brooklyn-born son of Liberian President George Weah, appeared to kiss a shot off the inside of the post and score in first-half stoppage time.
But replays showed he was a knee ahead of an Iranian defender as Weston McKennie passed to him.
45 minutes to glory: Americans take 1-0 lead into dressing room
The United States headed into halftime with a 1-0 lead over Iran, as the Americans found themselves 45 minutes away from advancing to the World Cup’s knockout round.
If this match ends in a U.S. victory, America would have five points and finish no worse than second place of Group B. First-place England and Wales were scoreless at halftime of the other Group B match.
The Americans have dominated play so far, with 54% possession compared to just 30% for Iran.
Photos: Fans wear their colors
United States fans ahead of the match against Iran.Stuart Franklin / Getty ImagesAn Iran fan.Fadel Senna / AFP – Getty Images
First blood: USA takes 1-0 lead
Christian Pulisic of United States scores their first goal during their World Cup match against Iran on Nov. 29, 2022, in Doha.Claudio Villa / Getty Images
Christian Pulisic scored from close range in the 38th minute as the United States took a 1-0 lead over Iran.
Pulisic had to be helped off the field after crashing into the net as his American teammates played with 10 men moments after giving his squad the lead.
He converted a headed pass from Sergiño Dest to give America the crucial first goal.
Most Iranian players appeared to sing national anthem ahead of U.S. match
Iranian players, from left, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ramin Rezaeian, Saeid Ezatolahi and Alireza Beiranvand sing the national anthem.Fadel Senna / AFP – Getty Images
Almost all of of Iran’s soccer players appeared to sing their national anthem ahead of the team’s game against the United States.
Players were criticized by Iranian officials and went back to singing the anthem ahead of their next match against Wales — even as fans inside the stadium booed and whistled.
One last reminder: How to watch USA play Iran in World Cup
The U.S. mission at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar, is simple: Win and advance to the final 16. A loss or draw will send the Americans home.
The Americans come into this final match of Group B play with draws against England and Wales.
Iran has lost to England but beaten Wales, putting Team Melli in second place going into this crucial match.
Iranian lawmakers hope for win — and national holiday
Iranian parliament members petitioned President Ebrahim Raisi to declare Wednesday a national holiday should Team Melli advance to World Cup knockout play with a win over the United States, the government-aligned Tasnim News Agency reported.
Such a national celebration would be a welcome relief for government officials, who want to take attention off ongoing human rights protests across the republic.
An Iranian victory over the United States guarantees qualification for the round of 16. An Iran-U.S. draw could also put Team Melli through, depending on the results of the England-Wales match, which will be played simultaneously.
White House throws its support behind Team USA
Netherlands and Senegal advance to knockout round
Kalidou Koulibaly’s 70th-minute goal gave Senegal a dramatic 2-1 victory over Ecuador to advance out of Group A.
Ecuador only needed a draw to advance and appeared to have that point in hand when Moises Caicedo scored an equalizer just three minutes before Koulibaly’s tie-breaking goal.
Netherlands beat host Qatar, 2-0, and won Group A with two victories and a draw.
The Group A champs will play the second-place squad of Group B at 10 a.m. EST Saturday in the round of 16. Senegal will take on the top finisher of Group B at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The United States is playing ‘ee-RON’ and not ‘eye-RAN’
“My apologies on the mispronunciation of your country,” Adams told reporters Monday after saying his side was playing “eye-RAN” as opposed to the preferred pronunciation of “ee-RON.”
Adams, whose father is Black, acknowledged his home nation’s ongoing racial reckoning but concluded that: “I think as long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”
Qatar official estimates World Cup worker deaths ‘between 400 and 500’
DOHA, Qatar — A top Qatari official involved in the country’s World Cup organization has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament “between 400 and 500,” a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha.
The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, portions of which Morgan posted online.
In the interview, the British journalist asks al-Thawadi: “What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from — as a result of work they’re doing for the World Cup in totality?”
“The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500,” al-Thawadi responds. “I don’t have the exact number. That’s something that’s been discussed.”
But that figure hasn’t been discussed publicly by Qatari officials previously. Reports from the Supreme Committee dating from 2014 through the end of 2021 only include the number of deaths of workers involved in building and refurbishing the stadiums now hosting the World Cup.
Those released figures put the total number of deaths at 40. They include 37 from what the Qataris describe as nonwork incidents such as heart attacks and three from workplace incidents.
In a later statement, the Supreme Committee said al-Thawadi was referring to “national statistics covering the period of 2014-2020 for all work-related fatalities (414) nationwide in Qatar, covering all sectors and nationalities.”
Blinken takes neutral stance on World Cup match
Secretary of State Antony Blinken insisted there are no “geopolitical aspects” to the massive U.S.-Iran soccer match that’s likely to determine each side’s World Cup fate.
“Let’s let the game speak for itself,” he said.
America’s top diplomat even played it down the middle in naming the sport the two teams are playing later today at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
“When it comes to, to soccer or football, as it’s sometimes more properly known, let’s get, let’s let the athletes do their thing,” he said. “I’m looking forward to a very competitive match between the United States and Iran.”
The United States must win to advance to the round of 16.
U.S. men’s team trains in Doha ahead of Iran match
Tyler Adams of the United States warms up at Al Gharafa Stadium on Nov. 28 in Doha, Qatar.Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images
Protests have engulfed earlier matches this World Cup
Iranian soccer players appeared to have some sympathy for protesters as the team remained silent while the national anthem was played before its first World Cup match against England last week.
Players were criticized by Iranian officials back home for their apparent silent protest and went back to singing the anthem ahead of their next match against Wales — even as fans inside the stadium booed and whistled.
Then, over the weekend, the U.S. Soccer Federation briefly displayed Iran’s flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic in support of protesters.
“We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours,” according to a U.S. Soccer statement.
That statement angered Iranian soccer and government officials who demanded that the Americans be thrown out of the tournament.
Second meeting between Iran and the U.S.
Tuesday’s match marks just the second contest between the two sides in World Cup history. That previous game ended in a 2-1 Team Melli victory in France in 1998, which also kept the Americans from knockout play.
That 1998 game was played 17 years after 52 U.S. hostages were released by Iran following 444 days of captivity. The emotional scars of that crisis were still fresh in the minds of many Americans when the two sides met in Lyon.
Tuesday’s match is also being played in the shadows of massive geopolitical events that have been unfolding thousands of miles away from the pitch in Al Khor.
African migrants on rudder of a ship rescued by Spanish coast guard after an 11-day voyage
Three African migrants who were balancing on a ship’s rudder were rescued by the Spanish coast guard on Monday after an 11-day voyage, according to officials.
In a tweet published Monday, the coast guard said it rescued the migrants from the rudder of Alithini II, a ship that traveled from Nigeria to the Canary Islands.
They can be seen sitting on the ship’s rudder with their backs bent, apparently due to lack of space, in a picture shared by the agency.
According to EFE, the migrants are three men of sub-saharan descent.
The migrants were taken to the port and treated by health services.
The Alithini II, an oil and chemical tanker, arrived at the Canary Islands on Monday following an 11-day journey from Lagos, Nigeria, according to Marinetraffic.com.
The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa, “are a popular gateway for African migrants attempting to reach Europe,” with Spanish data showing migration to the archipelago increased to 51% the first five months of 2022 compared to last year, Reuters reported.
Mirna Alsharif is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.
China to accelerate Covid vaccinations, cracks down on protests
By Tuesday, streets that had swelled with protests were walled off and guarded by security personnel, some of whom searched pedestrians’ phones for images or messaging apps that could link them to the demonstrations, according to Reuters.
In Beijing, police guarded the site of a protest on Sunday where people sang the Chinese national anthem, including the lyrics “Rise, people who do not wish to be slaves” and “Arise, arise, arise.”
Many of the weekend protests took place on university campuses, which have historically been the birthplace of China’s political movements. Tsinghua University in Beijing, where protesting students had chanted, “We want democratic rule of law, we want freedom of speech,” said in a statement on an official WeChat account that it would assist students who wished to go home and study remotely, citing their health and safety.
While the protests were largely tamped down, there continued to be scattered incidents of unrest. Late Monday in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, protesters dismantled a Covid-19 testing kiosk, throwing a bike and other objects as onlookers cheered and filmed, according to a video posted online and geolocated by NBC News. Another video showed more than 30 shield-carrying security personnel in white hazmat suits arriving at the scene.
Guangzhou officials on Monday announced that mass testing in most districts would no longer be required for older people, remote workers, students taking classes online and others who don’t need to leave home, in what was seen as an effort to placate the public.
Experts say China will have a tough time navigating its way out of the pandemic without getting more people inoculated. Many older people in China have resisted vaccination for fear of side effects, or because they saw little risk of contracting the virus in a country with virtually no cases. The proportion of people 60 and older who have received two doses is about 86.4%, according to official data, compared with 93% of people 65 and older in the U.S.
On Monday, police vehicles line a street in Beijing.Noel Celis / AFP – Getty Images
Chinese vaccines are also considered less effective against the highly transmissible omicron variant, and the government has resisted approving Western mRNA vaccines like those from Pfizer and Moderna as it tries to develop its own version.
The National Health Commission said Tuesday that it was especially focused on increasing vaccinations among people older than 80, though it did not announce a mandate. Officials will improve education around the vaccines, enlist the help of family members and use mobile vaccination vehicles, the agency said, and analyze “big data” to identify older people who need to be inoculated.
With new, mostly asymptomatic infections still being reported across China — 38,421 on Tuesday, down from a record 40,052 the day before — some Covid restrictions are still tightening.
Starting Tuesday, residents of China’s largest city and its commercial capital, Shanghai, are required to show a negative PCR test from the past 48 hours — down from 72 hours — to enter restaurants, bars, shopping malls, supermarkets, beauty salons and other businesses. The restrictions match those implemented in Beijing last week.
Shanghai Disneyland, which only reopened on Friday after being closed for almost a month after a visitor tested positive for the virus, closed again on Tuesday for an indefinite period.
An opinion article Tuesday in People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party, said officials at all levels must “unswervingly implement” the government’s Covid policies. It did not mention the protests.
“The harder it is, the more you have to grit your teeth,” it said.
Jennifer Jett is the Asia digital editor for NBC News, based in Hong Kong.
Janis Mackey Frayer and Matthew Mulligan contributed.
Singapore repeals gay sex ban but limits prospect of legalizing same-sex marriage
Singapore’s parliament on Tuesday decriminalized sex between men, but, in a blow to the LGBTQ community, also amended the constitution to prevent court challenges that in other countries have led to the legalization of same-sex marriage.
The moves come as other parts of Asia, including Taiwan, Thailand and India are recognizing more rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer community.
Activists cheered the repeal, but said the amendment to the constitution is disappointing because it means citizens will not be able to mount legal challenges to issues like the definition of marriage, family, and related policies since these will only be decided by the executive and legislature.
The government has defended amending the constitution saying decisions on such issues should not be led by the courts. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his successor have ruled out any changes to the current legal definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman.
“We will try and maintain a balance…to uphold a stable society with traditional, heterosexual family values, but with space for homosexuals to live their lives and contribute to society,” Home Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam said in parliament this week.
Both the repeal and the constitutional amendment were passed with an overwhelming majority, thanks to the ruling People’s Action Party’s dominance in parliament. There is no timeline yet for when the new laws take effect.
The changes do, however, leave room for a future parliament to expand the definition of marriage to include same-sex relationships.
Bryan Choong, chair of LGBTQ advocacy group Oogachaga, said it was a historical moment for activists who have been campaigning for a repeal of the law known as Section 377A for 15 years. But he added that LGBTQ couples and families also “have the right to be recognized and protected”.
In Singapore, attitudes towards LGBTQ issues have shifted toward a more liberal stance in recent years especially among the young, though conservative attitudes remain among religious groups. Of those aged 18-25, about 42% accepted same-sex marriage in 2018, up from 17% just five years prior, according to a survey by the Institute of Policy Studies.
