The job for the U.S. soccer team was simple, really: win.
The stakes and the stage and the politics all made things harder going into their game against Iran on Tuesday night at the World Cup. The own goal by their federation’s social media team, the Iranians’ great umbrage at the perceived insult to their flag, the chatter and the threats and the intrigue all added to the spice of the matchup. But the task, at its heart, left no room for nuance at all: If United States wanted to keep playing in this tournament, it had to beat Iran.
And so it did.