Beauty, Agony, Intensity. It’s the World Cup

I don’t think I’m a skilled enough writer to describe the essence of the World Cup, Soccer, or the Beautiful Game, but I know when I’m seeing it.  Yesterday, while watching Iran and Argentina’s match, I was a witness.

Iran was a huge underdog. Argentina has championship expectations. A draw for Iran would count as a huge upset.

I think this is where a lot of Americans struggle to understand soccer. We don’t do ties in America. We like defined outcomes. We just don’t possibly get how a team can consider no outcome a good outcome.

In the World Cup, if you’re not one of the power countries, your goal is to survive group play. In matches where it’s very unlikely you will win, a draw can serve as a victory. It counts as one point instead of zero. The team your playing gets one as well, instead of the three they would have received if they beat you. So, even though Iran isn’t as good as Argentina, if they were able to escape with a draw they would be considered as good as them in the eyes of their group. Since a team only plays three games in group play, that can be huge. Subsequently, if your country is a huge favorite and can only muster a draw with an underdog, it can be a borderline loss.

During yesterday’s game, Iran and battled Argentina to a draw for 91 minutes. There was only a few minutes left in the game, if Iran were to hold on it would have been a significant point of pride for the country.

But they didn’t.

Enter Lionel Messi, perhaps the greatest player in the world. He did this at about the 91st minute:

Game. Thanks for playing Iran.

What can you do about that shot? Nothing, really. Messi is a legend.

This is the beauty of the World Cup to me. The intensity Iran showed for 91 minutes was inspiring to watch. The beauty of Messi’s shot to end their dream was breathtaking. The agony on the face of the Iranians served to show just how important this international event is.

To Americans out there that still don’t get soccer. To the ones who are sharing the meme that basically says “If I wanted to watch someone fail to score for 90 minutes I’d go to a bar,” I would direct them to the Iran/Argentina game.

There is more to drama than scoring. The World Cup proves that every four years.