US coach calls for focus before Iran decider

United States coach Gregg Berhalter insisted his team is focused only on today’s Group B showdown with Iran as he sidestepped the political fracas around the game.

Iran earned a famous 2-1 victory in the 1998 tournament, a game widely viewed as the mostly politically charged in World Cup history and dubbed at the time as the “mother of all football matches”.

“I don’t want to sound aloof or not caring, but the guys have worked really hard for the last four years. It’s a knockout game, both teams are desperate to go to the next round. That’s how we’re looking at this match.”