DOHA, Qatar — It all seems so straightforward — laughable, perhaps — for Kylian Mbappé when it comes to the World Cup.

The France forward, who scored four goals when he led his country to the title four years ago as a 19-year-old phenom, put on yet another demonstration of how devastating he can be on the soccer field.

After it was over, Mbappé almost seemed to be chuckling as Robert Lewandowski came over to congratulate him following his spectacular display.

Mbappé scored two goals Sunday and set up another for Olivier Giroud to give France a 3-1 victory over Poland and move the 2018 champions within three wins of defending their title. He already has a tournament-best five goals in Qatar as Les Bleus have reached the quarterfinals for the third straight tournament.
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“The only objective for me is to win the World Cup,” Mbappé said. “The only thing I dream is this. I came here to win this World Cup. I didn’t come here to win the Golden Ball or Golden Boot. If I win it of course I’m going to be happy but that’s not why I’m here. I’m here to win and I’m here to help the French national team.”

Lewandowski, a two-time FIFA player of the year, scored from the penalty spot in second-half stoppage time for Poland.

Mbappé scored his first goal in the 74th minute when he was left unmarked to blast in a long-range shot following a counterattack. He added another in stoppage time when Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny could only get a weak glove on another powerful shot from the man in the No. 10 shirt.

Having also provided two assists, Mbappé has easily been the most productive player in Qatar.

After his latest exploits, he explained why he hadn’t addressed the media in Qatar before Sunday.

“I needed to focus on the tournament and my soccer,” he said through a translator, adding that he had volunteered to pay a French federation fine for his silence. “When I want to concentrate on something that’s the way I function. And that’s why I didn’t want to come speak to you before now.

“I’ve been preparing for this tournament throughout the season, physically and mentally,” he added. “I wanted to be ready for this tournament and I am.”

Mbappé celebrated his second goal by waving his arms for the crowd to cheer louder. Then he hoisted himself up onto the crossbar shortly after the final whistle in another celebratory gesture in front of France’s fans.

Mbappé already has nine career World Cup goals and if he stays healthy, he could probably play in another three editions of soccer’s biggest event — meaning he might approach the World Cup career scoring record held by Germany striker Miroslav Klose, who scored 16 goals over four World Cups.

“He hurt us today but I am cheering for him because he is a real star,” Poland coach Czesław Michniewicz said through a translator. “I’m talking about (Lionel) Messi, (Cristiano) Ronaldo, Lewandowski. If someone is going to take over, I think Mbappé will be the player to be the best one (for) many years.”

No country has repeated as World Cup champions in six decades — since Brazil achieved the feat by claiming consecutive trophies in 1958 and 1962. Italy is the only other nation to have won two straight, in 1934 and 1938.

France’s quarterfinal opponent will be either England or Senegal.

While Lewandowski is a prolific scorer himself, he’s never come close to winning a major title with a Poland team that struggles to get him the ball.

Mbappé, by contrast, is supported by a large array of talented players — even though half a dozen top France players are out injured.

The French team took the lead when Mbappé threaded a pass to Giroud and the AC Milan striker quickly slotted the ball into the far corner. It was Giroud’s 52nd career international goal — breaking a tie with Thierry Henry on France’s all-time scoring list.

After Mbappé leaped into Giroud’s arms to celebrate, pumping his fists, Giroud held up seven fingers to the cameras — five on one hand and two on the other for “52.”

It’s all the more sweet for Giroud because he wasn’t even supposed to be a starter on this year’s squad until Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema was ruled out because of injury. Giroud also scored two goals in France’s opening 4-1 win over Australia.

France, however, wasn’t so sure to go this far when several other top players were ruled out shortly before the tournament because of physical issues, including midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, central defender Presnel Kimpembe, left back Lucas Hernandez, and forward Christopher Nkunku are also out.

On a record-setting night for France, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris matched the national team mark of 142 appearances held by Lilian Thuram.

With two European teams playing, there weren’t all that many supporters of either country inside Al Thumama Stadium except for small pockets of France fans beating drums behind one goal and red-and-white clad spectators chanting “Polska” behind the opposite goal. There were also plenty of empty seats.

On Saturday evening in Qatar, the United States could not overcome three ruthless strikes from the Netherlands. The Dutch side, World Cup finalist a dozen years ago and the third place finisher at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, defeated the United States 3-1 in the Round of 16, sending the U.S. home to start thinking ahead to 2026, when North America plays host to the world’s most popular sporting event.

The U.S. has only defeated a European team once—a 3-2 victory over Portugal in 2002—at the World Cup since 1990. The Americans are 1-12-7 against Europe during that stretch.
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Christian Pulisic, the United States star who suffered a pelvic contusion on a collision while scoring Team USA’s lone goal on Tuesday in a must-win group stage game against Iran, recovered in time to take the field, as he promised. And he had a golden early chance. Just over two minutes into the match, Tyler Adams lofted a neat ball into the penalty area that Pulisic chased down. But he didn’t get enough on the ball on a close-range shot; Netherlands goalie Andries Noppert nicked away.

Read More: These Are the Countries FIFA Has Ever Banned From the World Cup

In the 10th minute, Memphis Depay of the Netherlands outran Adams, who’s been terrific all tournament, to the top of the box, and punched a pretty cross into the net to give Netherlands a 1-0 lead. Near the end of the first half, Tim Weah fired a laser from a distance that Noppert punched away. Daley Blind, in first half extra time, gave the Netherlands insurance, again making a sleeping U.S. defense play by sneaking into the middle and firing a one-touch shot past Matt Turner to put the Dutch up 2-0.

The U.S. made a sub for the second half, inserting 20-year-old striker Gio Reyna into the lineup for some quick scoring. To the consternation of many pundits and fans, Reyna, who suits up for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, barely played during the Group Stage, just getting a few late minutes against England on November 25. The U.S. applied some early second half pressure, as defenseman Tim Ream got a shot on goal early in the half that a Dutch player had to kick off the line.

The U.S. made two more offensive-minded subs before the 70th minute, sending Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright into the game. The Wright sub paid off almost immediately: in the 76th minute, he touched a Pulisic cross into the back corner of the net to cut the deficit in half.

Wright’s heroics set up a furious finish. But in the 81st minute, the Netherlands had too much time to operate: Denzel Dumfries snuck behind Ream on the far post, to put a cross into the net and put the U.S. away.

If anything, the game displayed a key difference between a historically strong European side and the upstart U.S. The Netherlands operated with ruthless efficiency, capitalizing on U.S. mistakes with direct offensive sequences that resulted in goals. The Americans have four years to work on their technical ability.

Read More: How to Watch the 2022 World Cup

The United States accomplished its goal at the Qatar World Cup: making it to knockout round. Coach Gregg Berhalter never shied away from those expectations, noting before the tournament that generations are marked by World Cup performance. Past American teams that made it to the knockout round have been admired, others derided. Yes, the U.S. was the second youngest team coming into this World Cup. But it was also historically talented, as this young generation was suiting up for squads like Chelsea and Juventus.

And in 2026, Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Adams, the team captain will be 27. Weah will be 26. Reyna will be 23. All core players in their prime, at a home World Cup. Expectations, correctly, will be raised, and hopes for a longer knock-out state run higher than ever. The Qatar World Cup offered thrilling moments for American soccer. And it could go down as an all-time tuneup.

The 2022 World Cup has been something of a public-relations nightmare for its host, Qatar. Criticisms continue to abound over the country’s exploitation of migrant workers, its poor record on LGBTQ+ rights (and those expressing solidarity with LGBTQ+ people), and the purportedly corrupt manner in which it won its hosting bid in the first place. To make matters worse, the Qatari national team failed to win a single match in the Group stage, ensuring its early exit from the tournament.
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Yet for much of the Arab world, this World Cup—the first to be held in the region—has been something of a triumph. It has featured major sporting upsets, mended political rivalries, and showcased rare displays of pan-Arab unity amid an otherwise competitive atmosphere. That sentiment will be on display Wednesday when Arab fans cheer on as Saudi Arabia squares off against Mexico at 10 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET) and when Morocco does the same against Canada at the same time Thursday. The outcome of both games will determine whether the two teams will advance to the Knockout stage.

A reminder of pan-Arab nationalism

The most obvious expressions of unity have centered around the games, some of which have resulted in stunning upsets for Arab teams against some of the world’s highest-ranked squads. The most notable of these came when Saudi Arabia (ranked 51st in FIFA’s world rankings) defeated Argentina (ranked 3rd) 2-1 in its opening match. The result left most observers, including Saudi fans, in shock before spurring celebrations across the region—from displays of the Saudi flag on skyscrapers in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to public celebrations in Egypt, Jordan, and Gaza. The result even prompted some celebrations in Yemen, where a Saudi-led military coalition has been waging a brutal war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels since 2015. Arab fans were given another reason to celebrate less than a week later, when Morocco (ranked 22nd) bested Belgium (ranked 2nd) in a match that ended 2-0. (Though in Belgium things turned sour when dozens of Moroccans took to rioting in Brussels and Antwerp, including torching cars and scooters. Some on Twitter have cheekily called the destruction the best example yet of integration, given Europe’s reputation for soccer hooliganism.)

That soccer victories would be significant in unifying a region that shares so many linguistic, cultural, and religious traditions may seem odd to most World Cup viewers. But Arab governments have long been beset by political divisions, not least when it comes to issues as vexed as Israel and its treatment of Palestinians, who despite not being represented by a national team have had an outsized presence in this tournament. While most Arab countries do not have established ties with Israel, a small number of states—among them the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco—recently opted to change that with normalization agreements through the U.S.-led Abraham Accords launched under former President Donald Trump. But those political realities haven’t been reflected at the World Cup, where crowds of Arab fans have been seen waving Palestinian flags and chanting pro-Palestine slogans. Some refused to speak with Israeli broadcasters, while others took the opportunity to express their solidarity with the Palestinian people.

For Mira Al Hussein, an Emirati sociology researcher at Oxford University, that solidarity demonstrates a pan-Arab unity that isn’t often reflected in regional politics. “What they did really was just show the world how unanimous the Arab street is,” Al Hussein says. “It just shows that Arab nationalism and pan-Arabism did not die with Gamal Abdel Nasser as most nation states would like us to believe,” she says, referring to the former Egyptian President, who is seen as an icon of pan-Arab nationalism.

Read More: Weary and Thirsty, World Cup Fans Try to Find Joy at a Complicated Tournament

While displays of this kind of pan-Arab unity are relatively rare, support for the Palestinian cause has long had deep resonance across the Middle East and North Africa. “The Palestinian cause is par excellence the Arab cause,” says H.A. Hellyer, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noting that the prominence of the Palestinian flag at the tournament comes down to the fact that “in the Arab world, that flag is not the flag of a single people; it’s the flag of a cause that Arabs writ large believe in.”

Turning the page on the Qatar-Saudi diplomatic conflict

While much of the pan-Arab unity has been concentrated on the streets of Doha, it has also been visible among Arab leaders, including those with long-standing political rivalries. This is particularly true when it comes to Qatar and its neighbor Saudi Arabia, who along with allies the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt had cut off all diplomatic ties with Doha until last year over its alleged support for Islamist groups. Though the political crisis and the four-year Saudi-led blockade of Qatar was lifted in 2021, the presence of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (who even went so far as to sport a Qatar scarf) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi nonetheless reinforced the general cooling of tensions between Doha and its Arab peers. Doha certainly did nothing to dispel that notion when Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani enthusiastically draped the Saudi flag over his shoulders during the team’s stunning upset against Argentina.

But perhaps the biggest source of Arab unity has been spurred by the belief that Qatar is being unfairly maligned by Western observers, whose critiques many say reflect anti-Arab stereotypes and double standards. While much of Western criticism has been rooted in concrete criticisms of Qatar’s human-rights record, many Arabs nonetheless feel that “they are attacking Qatar because it’s an Arab Muslim country,” says Hellyer. “And, frankly, that argument does have legs. But it’s also being used to dispel and detract and distract from genuine critique.”

International criticism and how their respective national teams perform notwithstanding, this World Cup looks poised to go down in Arab countries as a moment of pan-Arab goodwill. But that unity has not been tested by inter-Arab matches.

“The unity stuff comes out when it’s versus external,” says Hellyer. “The problem then comes up when they play against each other.”

Never has American men’s soccer witnessed such a momentous, beautiful bull rush.

Because that’s what it was, really. Christian Pulisic, who at 24 looks destined to be remembered as the most accomplished U.S. men’s soccer player in history, was still chasing the one moment that eluded him: scoring in a World Cup. So, in his first World Cup, in a win-or go-home affair against geopolitical rival Iran on Tuesday, Pulisic chased after that goal harder than any American male player that came before him.

If Team USA can somehow create some more magic in the knockout round of the Qatar World Cup—much stranger things, remember, have happened in sports—its success can be traced directly back to Pulisic’s effort against Iran. In the 38th minute, Weston McKennie lofted a ball into the right side of the penalty area; mid-flight, Pulisic astutely started streaking toward the goal from the left side, like an NFL running back headed for the end-zone. McKennie’s ball found the head of Sergiño Dest, who guided it across the box to Pulisic, who split two Iranian defenders.
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Now, the World Cup dreams of two nations, perennially at odds with one another, came down to a split-second foot race between Pulisic and Iran keeper Alireza Beiranvand. Beiranvand moved to his right, to stunt both Pulisic’s near-range shot and his momentum.

But Pulisic refused to stop his bull rush. He got to the top of the goal area, flicked the ball into the net at full speed, and crashed square into Beiranvand’s knee and stomach, sending both men tumbling into the turf. Pulisic, the only American to ever appear in a Champion’s League Final, got his goal, and the United States got a 1-0 lead it would never relinquish. Team USA earned a place in the round of 16, against the Group A champion Netherlands, on Saturday. A crushed Iran side exited the World Cup.

Less courageous players might have eased up a bit on that charge, to save their body from sure pain. But like a centerfielder in baseball crashing into an outfield wall to make the catch, Pulisic sacrificed his anatomy, for the good of team and country. No matter what the U.S. does from here, that goal will carry its fair share of lore.

He returned to the pitch for the remainder of the first half but didn’t play in the second. The Chelsea winger suffered a pelvic contusion scoring the goal and went to a hospital for scans. Pulisic said on social media, from a hospital bed, that he will be ready to play Saturday against the Netherlands.

The United States needs him. Pulisic’s teammates have commented on how he’s remained locked in during this entire World Cup. He’s put his exceptional skills on display during the U.S.’s first two games and was knocking on the door of the scoring column. His star turn, giving the U.S. men their most consequential victory in more than a decade, was years in the making.

Born in Hershey, Pa, Pulisic has credited his parents for his soccer prowess. To prevent burnout, they largely shunned the travel soccer scene. “A lot of kids, their parents force them to play on some team where they have to travel super far everyday,” he told TIME in a 2017 interview. “I think that makes it worse because they don’t realize their kid isn’t enjoying it at all. Let kids be kids.”

He moved to Germany before his 16th birthday; given that his grandfather was Croatian, he could play professionally starting at age 16 rather than 18. Pulisic signed with Borussia Dortmund’s youth program. He was soon playing for the top team, and he became the youngest non-German to ever score a goal in the Bundesliga, at 17. In 2019, the English Premier League’s Chelsea signed Pulisic for a $73 million transfer fee. With the London club, Pulisic became the first American to play in a Champions League Final in 2021. He’s had a rollercoaster season with Chelsea this year, coming off the bench in a majority of games.

That’s all pretty much forgotten now. Five years ago, Pulisic, when he was just 19, was on the field in Trinidad when the United States lost to Trinidad and Tobago and failed to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. In that 2017 TIME interview, which took place a week after the devastating loss, Pulisic hung up on this reporter rather than discuss that heartbreaking result. His devastation was understandable.

Five years later, he’s known as Captain America—a nickname he said he doesn’t enjoy, for understandable reasons. One, the U.S. team has a fine captain of its own, Tyler Adams, who expertly fended off aggressive questioning from the Iranian media before the U.S.-Iran matchup.

A second, it’s kind of cheesy.

But the moniker represents his importance to U.S. soccer, now and in the future. If Pulisic can indeed play on in Qatar, anything is possible for America.

Christian Pulisic scored while crashing headfirst into the goalkeeper in the 38th minute and the United States advanced to the knockout round of the World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iran on Tuesday in a politically charged rematch of their famous meeting a quarter-century ago.

Pulisic sprawled on the field and was lying in the goal for about three minutes as he received treatment from the U.S. staff. He reentered the game but was replaced at the start of the second half.

Back in the World Cup after missing the 2018 tournament, the U.S. opened with draws against Wales and England and needed a victory to move on to the round of 16.
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The Americans finished second in Group B with five points, two behind England, and will play the Netherlands on Saturday with the chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002.

Read More: Here’s How Each Team Can Make It to the Next Round of the World Cup

Iran finished third with three points. The team has failed to advance in all six of its World Cup appearances.

There was heightened tension surrounding the match because of the strained relations between the United States and Iran’s Islamic government. Iran had famously upset the U.S. 2-1 in the 1998 tournament in France, eliminating the Americans.

Pregame protocols were normal, unlike the 1998 game, when Iranians presented the Americans with white flowers and the teams posed for a joint photo.

Raucous Iranian fans with horns and drums in the crowd of 42,127 filled the lower bowl behind one goal at Al Thumama Stadium and were far louder than the red-white-and-blue U.S. supporters at the other end and behind the American bench.

The U.S. outshot Iran 9-0 in the first half but didn’t break through until Pulisic came up with the big moment that a growing and increasingly demanding fan base back home had been pining for.

Weston McKennie lofted a pass from just past the center circle to Sergiño Dest at the edge of the 6-yard box. Dest headed the ball in front of the net on a bounce as Pulisic charged up the center of the field past Ramin Rezaeian and Majid Hosseiniand.

Turning his body to let the ball hit his right foot, Pulisic knocked the ball for his 22nd international goal and first in World Cup play. His momemtum carried him into goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, and Pulisic needed to be helped to his feet before going back in.

Read More: Win or Lose, Some Iranians Are Torn Over Supporting Their World Cup Team

Tim Weah, who scored the Americans’ goal in the opening 1-1 draw with Wales, nearly doubled the lead in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time but was ruled offside.

Brenden Aaronson replaced Pulisic at the start of the second half.

With England ahead of Wales, Iran knew if needed only a draw to advance and finally got its first shot at goalkeeper Matt Turner when Saman Ghoddos put a header over the crossbar in the 52nd minute. Saeid Ezatolahi put an open shot high and wide in the 70th and Morteza Pouraliganji’s diving header in the third minute of nine minutes of stoppage time went just wide and Walker Zimmerman cleared a loose ball in front of the open net in the ninth minute after Cameron Carter-Vickers got a slight hand on Mehdi Taremi.

LINEUPS

Cameron Carter-Vickers, a son of former NBA player Howard Carter, made his World Cup debut in place of Zimmerman and gave the U.S. an entirely Europe-based lineup for the first time ever in World Cup play.

LOOKING AHEAD

The U.S. is 1-4 against the Netherlands, all friendlies, overcoming a two-goal deficit to win 4-3 at Amsterdam in 2015.

Saudi Arabia is considering making a joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup along with Egypt and Greece, according to Tourism Minister Ahmed Al Khateeb.

“We are considering a bid with Greece and Egypt and we wish that it will be a winning bid,” Al Khateeb said in an interview in Riyadh. “Definitely the three countries would invest heavily in infrastructure and would definitely be ready. And I know by then Saudi Arabia would have state of the art stadiums and fanzones built.”

Read More: Inside Saudi Arabia’s Plan to Go Green While Remaining the World’s No. 1 Oil Exporter 

A Saudi bid to host the World Cup would add to the list of sporting events the world’s largest oil exporter is hosting as it looks to open up its economy to tourists and diversify away from a reliance on energy sales. It’s already secured the Asian Winter Games in 2029, an annual Formula 1 race, and several high profile boxing matches.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, attended the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar last week alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino, days after canceling a trip to major oil customer Japan. London’s Times newspaper said in September the kingdom would potentially make a joint bid with Egypt and Greece according to unnamed source.

—With assistance from Sarah Halls.

The organizers of this year’s World Cup in Qatar are facing heat for a range of controversies. But when athletes hit the field, they’ll be nice and cool, despite scorching temperatures outside. That’s because the open-air arenas the country constructed for the tournament are air conditioned.

Read More: Weary and Thirsty, World Cup Fans Try to Find Joy at a Complicated Tournament

Although that’ll help make players and spectators more comfortable in Qatar’s hot climate, the use of air conditioning outdoors isn’t easing environmentalists’ concerns about the Gulf petrostate’s hosting of the tournament. Qatar’s World Cup organizers say the technology was designed with sustainability top of mind. But some climate advocates argue that it sends the wrong message at a time when the world is facing an energy crisis and trying to reign in emissions. They worry that, with such a publicized precedent on the global stage, outdoor air conditioning might become a dangerous new norm as the planet gets hotter.
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Here’s what to know about outdoor air conditioning being used at the World Cup.

Why are Qatar’s outdoor World Cup stadiums air conditioned?

Qatar is one of the hottest countries on earth. That’s already taken a deadly toll on many involved in event preparations. Thousands of migrant workers who powered the World Cup building boom have died over the past decade, many because of poor working conditions made more dangerous by excessive heat.

Read More: Thousands of Migrant Workers Died in Qatar’s Extreme Heat. The World Cup Forced a Reckoning

This year’s World Cup is being played in November and December in an attempt to beat the searing heat; most World Cups are held during the summer months, when temperatures in Qatar regularly exceed 100°F.

Still, the average November high temperature in the Gulf state is around 85°F , and extreme heat can take a toll on athletes, causing illness and negatively impacting performance.

Air conditioning will help make play more bearable. A TIME journalist who in August visited the Lusail Stadium, an arena about 12 miles north of central Doha that will host the World Cup Final, described it feeling like a fresh spring day inside the venue, despite outside temperatures of 118°F .

How does Qatar’s outdoor air conditioning work?

Thanks to air conditioning, temperatures at World Cup matches are expected to be about 68°F, no matter the conditions outside.

The technology, developed with Qatar University, cools air and distributes it via grills in the stands and through pitch-side nozzles. “We only cool around where the people and players are,” Saud Ghani, a professor of engineering at Qatar University nicknamed “Dr. Cool” for his work on cooling gear, tells TIME.

Read More: How Qatar’s New Cool-Tech Gear Helps Workers in Extreme Heat

“Spot cooling means we only cool the areas where people need it—like on the pitch and in the stands,” Ghani told FIFA. “The form of each stadium acts as a barrier, which contains a cold bubble inside. Our air circulation technique cools the air, filters it, and pushes it out towards the players and fans. Each stadium is cooled to a comfortable temperature.”

Ghani says the aim of the air conditioning is to allow players to play safely and for fans to “feel neutral,” as opposed to too cold, though some fans reported being too cold in the arena hosting the breezy opening night, according to the Associated Press. Ghani adds that a lot of work has been done to stop the cool air inside stadiums from mixing with the hot air outside. “The trick is to make sure that you keep your bubble isolated, the micro bubble from the macro bubble outside,” says Ghani. “Cold air is heavier, it stays at the bottom. Hot air is lighter and stays on the top,” he says, likening the physics to oil and water.

Is outdoor air conditioning bad for the environment?

All air conditioning is terrible for the environment. Planet-warming hydrofluorocarbon gasses can leak into the atmosphere as the coolant escapes AC units when they reach the end of their life. Increased air conditioning use can also put a strain on electricity grids, often powered by fossil fuel energy; together with electric fans, air conditioning accounts for 10% of global electricity use. Demand for air conditioning worldwide is surging as the planet grows hotter. But more air conditioning requires more energy, the generation of which produces more greenhouse gasses that make the planet warmer, creating a vicious feedback loop.

In Qatar, air conditioning accounts for 60-70% of Qatar’s total electricity demand, according to local media. World Cup organizers like to point to a new 800 MW solar power plant that was connected to the grid last month, which promises to supply 10% of the country’s peak power consumption, but the country still gets the vast majority of its energy from fossil fuels.

In principle, outdoor air conditioning is even worse than indoor air conditioning—given outdoor areas are typically less insulated so it may take more energy to stay cool. “Outdoor air conditioning is bad for the environment, there’s no doubt about that,” says Khaled Diab, the communications director of the not-for-profit advocacy group Carbon Market Watch. “Even if it’s an efficient system, it requires a tremendous amount of energy to cool the air, because it’s open air, so it circulates with the outside air. So obviously it’s less energy efficient than indoor air conditioning.”

Read More: Air Conditioning Will Not Save Us From Global Warming

Ghani says that sustainability was a key consideration for this World Cup’s preparations from early in the design process, considered in every detail from where materials were sourced to how the grounds would be used after the tournament ends to how the shape and color of the stadiums would influence the temperatures inside. Ghani says that his technology uses 40% less power to cool a similar space that uses traditional technology. He adds that the solar project, which opened in October, will contribute to the diversification of Qatar’s energy mix.

Although the air conditioning may be more efficient than it might seem at first glance, that’s not to say that the World Cup won’t have a huge environmental impact. The air conditioning “will be a drop in the ocean compared to the emissions from construction, the emissions from flying,” says Diab. “That will take the lion’s share of the emissions.”

Organizers spent hundreds of billions of dollars to build most of the World Cup venues and other infrastructure from scratch, and detractors question how useful all of it will be after the event concludes. As for flying, as many as 1.7 million people from all over the world might visit Qatar during the tournament, according to estimates by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority. And with not enough hotels in Qatar to accommodate all the fans, daily shuttle flights from some neighboring countries, like the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, will be running throughout the tournament.

Several sustainability advocates and organizations have accused the tournament’s organizers of “greenwashing” and scoffed at claims that this will be the first-ever “carbon-neutral” World Cup. They accuse the organizers of undercounting the carbon emissions that the event is responsible for and relying on questionable carbon credits to offset the tournament’s real impact.

What does this mean going forward?

Extreme weather is becoming a more pressing problem for the organizers of global sporting events. At the Tokyo Olympics in August 2021, for example, more than two dozen people suffered from heat-related illnesses, despite mitigation measures like ice jackets, mist sprays, and moving competitions to cooler times of the day.

Read More: What Extreme Heat Does to the Human Body

Diab points out that the use of climate control in sport is already widespread, citing European club stadiums, which are heated in winter, and under pitch heating, which has become standard to create ideal conditions. “It is highly problematic that Qatar has built air conditioned open-air stadiums, but it’s indicative of a broader problem in professional sports,” he says. “Professional sport has become very, very energy intensive and in many ways, very wasteful.”

Some experts worry that the outdoor air conditioning in use at the World Cup may set a dangerous precedent that’s adopted elsewhere. “Even if the venues in Qatar are able to use renewable energy to power the air conditioning, it suggests to others that this a ‘normal’ thing to do,” says Russell Seymour, the executive chair of the British Association for Sustainable Sport, “leading others to possibly use inappropriate technologies in other outdoor areas.” Seymour acknowledges the designers’ claims that they have optimized the stadiums to hold the cool air inside, but he says that other venues might not have such design features built in. He adds: “It may also lead other outdoor spaces to think that external cooling is acceptable when it takes significant resources in terms of the energy used and in the construction of the units and refrigerants used.”

Ghani is aware of the criticism, but he says that organizers in Qatar went above and beyond to take sustainability into consideration for this year’s World Cup. “What we’ve done is a demonstration of sustainability in action in such big mega projects,” says Ghani. “It’s something that people should learn from, rather than just criticizing it without the knowledge,” he added. “We’re designing for the future.”

—With reporting by Aryn Baker/Qatar

The final round of the group stage of the World Cup brings with it a multitude of possibilities for each team to advance in the tournament.

This year’s tournament in particular—which has already seen thrilling last-minute goals, stunning comebacks, and shock defeats of favorites—is anything but predictable. And with so many ways it can play out, every kick over the next four days will matter.

The group stage in its current form actually makes up most of the World Cup, comprising 48 of the 64 games. Within each group of four teams, it’s a round-robin-style competition to finish in the top two spots based on points: three points are earned for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. The bottom two teams from each of the eight groups are eliminated from the tournament.
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And while finishing first or second ensures a team moves on to the Round of 16, the specific order in which they advance is important, too. The winner of Group A plays the runner-up of Group B, the runner-up of A plays the winner of B, and so on for Groups C and D, E and F, and G and H.

There’s something special about the final round. As of Monday evening, each team in all eight groups has faced off against two other teams in their group and has one remaining game to accumulate any more points. The stakes are raised for these third matchups, as every team knows it’s their last chance to do what they need to do to stay in the tournament. And unlike in the first two rounds, the final two matches for each group are played simultaneously, making it a nerve-wracking 90 minutes for all teams involved—and for the fans who are trying to monitor every potential outcome.

Read More: Team USA’s World Cup Fate Is in Their Own Hands Following Tie With England

Often teams in a group finish with the same number of points, but unlike in the knockout stage, there are no penalty shootouts. In the event of a tie on points in the group stage, places are determined by a series of tiebreakers. First, total goal difference (all of the team’s goals scored across their three matches minus all of their goals conceded). If still tied, just the number of goals scored are considered. If still tied, the teams’ head-to-head results determine which finishes ahead of the other.

FIFA introduced a fourth “fair play” tiebreaker during the last World Cup. According to FIFA’s website, “the team that has accumulated the fewest indiscipline points wins (a yellow card equals 1 point, a red card shown for two yellows equals 3 points, a direct red card equals 4 points and a direct red card shown to a player who was already on a yellow equals 5 points).” If somehow teams were still tied, which finishes ahead of the other would theoretically be determined by a drawing of lots, though no team has ever been eliminated from a World Cup that way.

Here’s a guide to all the different potential outcomes this week, listed in order of most likely to least likely, based on a model by American data analysis website FiveThirtyEight. But with so many upsets thus far in the competition, don’t count out the underdogs.

Group A

In Group A, World Cup host nation Qatar (currently with 0 points) has no chance of advancing to the knockout stage of the competition, while group leader Netherlands (4 points) is very likely to advance. Ecuador (4 points) will stay in the competition with a draw or a win against Senegal, while Senegal (3 points) needs to beat Ecuador to move on to the next round.

The matches kick off at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, November 29.

[28.86%] Netherlands beats Qatar, Ecuador beats Senegal: Both Netherlands (7 points) and Ecuador (7 points) advance, with the order determined by which team wins by more goals in their final match. If they both win by the same margin, whichever team scores more goals in their final match finishes first in the group. If they both win by the same score, the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Netherlands goes into the final match slightly leading on that metric, having received only two yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Ecuador’s three yellow cards. If still tied, the order is determined by a drawing of lots.

[25.74%] Netherlands beats Qatar, Ecuador draws Senegal: Netherlands (7 points) win the group. Ecuador (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[23.4%] Netherlands beats Qatar, Senegal beats Ecuador: Netherlands (7 points) win the group. Senegal (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[5.55%] Netherlands draws Qatar, Ecuador beats Senegal: Ecuador (7 points) wins the group. Netherlands (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[4.95%] Netherlands draws Qatar, Ecuador draws Senegal: Both Netherlands (5 points) and Ecuador (5 points) advance, with the order determined by which team scores more goals in their final match. If they both draw with the same score, the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Netherlands goes into the final match slightly leading on that metric, having received only two yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Ecuador’s three yellow cards. If still tied, the order is determined by a drawing of lots.

[4.5%] Netherlands draw Qatar, Senegal beats Ecuador: Senegal (6 points) wins the group. Netherlands (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[2.59%] Qatar beats Netherlands, Ecuador beats Senega: Ecuador (7 points) wins the group. Netherlands (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[2.31%] Qatar beats Netherlands, Ecuador draws Senegal: Ecuador (5 points) wins the group, and either Netherlands (4 points) or Senegal (4 points) advances as runner-up. If Netherlands loses to Qatar by one goal, Netherlands advances based on goal difference. If Netherlands loses to Qatar by two goals, whichever of Senegal or Netherlands scores more goals in their final match advances; if they score the same number of goals in their final match, Netherlands advances based on having previously beaten Senegal head-to-head. If Netherlands loses to Qatar by three goals or more, Senegal advances based on goal difference.

[2.1%] Qatar beats Netherlands, Senegal beats Ecuador: Senegal (6 points) wins the group, and whichever of Netherlands (4 points) or Ecuador (4 points) loses by fewer goals advances as runner-up. If Netherlands and Ecuador lose by the same number of goals, whichever team scores more goals in their final match advances. If they both lose their final match by the same score, the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Netherlands goes into the final match slightly leading on that metric, having received only two yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Ecuador’s three yellow cards. If still tied, the team that advances is determined by a drawing of lots.

Group B

Group B leader England (currently with 4 points) is in a good position to advance, barring a big loss to Wales. Team USA (2 points) and Iran (3 points), meanwhile, are in a winner-takes-all battle. And Wales (1 point) needs to win against England to have a chance.

The matches kick off at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, November 29.

[22.8%] England beats Wales, USA beats Iran: England (7 points) wins the group. Team USA (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[18.6%] England beats Wales, Iran beats USA: England (7 points) wins the group. Iran (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[18.6%] England beats Wales, Iran and USA draw: England (7 points) wins the group. Iran (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[9.88%] Wales and England draw, USA beats Iran: Both England (5 points) and the United States (5 points) advance. England will be the winner of the group unless Team USA beats Iran by four goals or more. If the U.S. beats Iran by five goals or more, the U.S. advances as the group winner. If the U.S. beats Iran by four goals, the next tiebreaker will be goals scored, which England leads the U.S. by four going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” England goes into the final match leading on that metric, having received zero yellow cards in previous matches, compared to the four yellow cards the U.S. has received. If still tied, the order is determined by a drawing of lots.

[8.06%] Wales and England draw, Iran beats USA: Iran (6 points) wins the group. England (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[8.06%] Wales and England draw, Iran and USA draw: England (5 points) wins the group. Iran (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[5.32%] Wales beats England, USA beats Iran: Team USA (5 points) wins the group, and either England (4 points) or Wales (4 points) advances as runner-up. Wales needs to win by at least four goals to advance.

[4.34%] Wales beats England, Iran beats USA: Iran (6 points) wins the group, and either England (4 points) or Wales (4 points) advances as runner-up. Wales needs to win by at least four goals to advance.

[4.34%] Wales beats England, Iran and USA draw: England (4 points) wins the group, and Wales (4 points) advances as runner-up, unless Wales beats England by six goals or more, in which case Iran (4 points) would have a chance. If Wales beats England by 7 goals or more, Wales wins the group, and Iran advances as runner-up. If Wales beats England by six goals, Wales wins the group, and either Iran or England advances as runner-up based on goals scored, which England leads Iran by two going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Wales beats England 6-0, Iran draws USA 2-2), England advances because it beat Iran when the two teams met head-to-head last week.

Group C

Saudi Arabia shook up Group C last week with its shock defeat of tournament favorites Argentina. Poland (currently with 4 points) now tops the group and only needs a draw to advance. Saudi Arabia (3 points) advances with a win against Mexico, and Argentina (3 points) advances with a win against Poland. At the bottom of the table, Mexico (1 point), a team that has yet to score a goal in this tournament, needs to beat Saudi Arabia to have any hope of advancing.

The matches kick off at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, November 30.

[26.68%] Argentina beats Poland, Mexico beats Saudi Arabia: Argentina (6 points) wins the group, and either Poland (4 points) or Mexico (4 points) advances as runner-up, based on goal difference, which Poland leads Mexico by four going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the team with more goals scored advances, which Poland leads Mexico by two going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Mexico beats Saudi Arabia 3-0, Argentina beats Poland 2-1), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Poland goes into the final match leading on that metric, having received four yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Mexico’s six. If still tied, the team that advances is determined by a drawing of lots.

[17.98%] Argentina beats Poland, Saudi Arabia and Mexico draw: Argentina (6 points) wins the group, and either Poland (4 points) or Saudi Arabia (4 points) advances as runner-up. Poland advances if it loses to Argentina by two goals or fewer; Saudi Arabia advances if Poland loses to Argentina by four goals or more. If Poland loses to Argentina by three goals, either Poland or Saudi Arabia advances based on whichever team scores more goals in their final match; if they score the same number of goals, Poland advances because it beat Saudi Arabia head-to-head.

[13.34%] Argentina beats Poland, Saudi Arabia beats Mexico: Both Argentina (6 points) and Saudi Arabia (6 points) advances, with the order determined by goal difference, which Argentina leads Saudi Arabia by two going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the team with more goals scored wins the group—which Argentina leads Saudi Arabia by one going into the final matches; if still tied (i.e. Argentina beats Poland 2-1, Saudi Arabia beats Mexico 3-0), Saudi Arabia wins the group because it beat Argentina head-to-head.

[12.42%] Poland and Argentina draw, Mexico beats Saudi Arabia: Poland (5 points) wins the group, and either Argentina (4 points) or Mexico (4 points) advances as runner-up. Mexico advances if it beats Saudi Arabia by four goals or more. Argentina advances if Mexico beats Saudi Arabia by two goals or fewer. If Mexico beats Saudi Arabia by three goals, either Mexico or Argentina advances based on goals scored, which Argentina leads Mexico by three going into the final matches. If they remain tied (i.e. Argentina draws Poland 0-0, Mexico beats Saudi Arabia 3-0), Argentina advances because it beat Mexico head-to-head.

[8.37%] Poland and Argentina draw, Saudi Arabia and Mexico draw: Poland (5 points) wins the group. Argentina (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[6.9%%] Poland beats Argentina, Mexico beats Saudi Arabia: Poland (7 points) wins the group. Mexico (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[6.21%] Poland and Argentina draw, Saudi Arabia beats Mexico: Saudi Arabia (6 points) wins the group. Poland (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[4.65%] Poland beats Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Mexico draw: Poland (7 points) wins the group. Saudi Arabia (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[3.45%] Poland beats Argentina, Saudi Arabia beats Mexico: Poland (7 points) wins the group. Saudi Arabia (6 points) advances as runner-up.

Group D

In Group D, reigning World Cup champion France (currently with 6 points) has already guaranteed its advancement to the knockout stage. Australia (3 points) advances with a win or a draw against Denmark, and Denmark (1 point) advances if it beats Australia. Tunisia (1 point) needs to beat France to have a chance at advancing, though it would still depend on the outcome of the game between Australia and Denmark.

The matches kick off at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, November 30.

[33.8%] France beats Tunisia, Denmark beats Australia: France (9 points) wins the group. Denmark (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[18.2%] France beats Tunisia, Australia and Denmark draw: France (9 points) wins the group. Australia (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[13%] France beats Tunisia, Australia beats Denmark: France (9 points) wins the group. Australia (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[12.48%] France and Tunisia draw, Denmark beats Australia: France (7 points) wins the group. Denmark (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[6.72%] France and Tunisia draw, Australia and Denmark draw: France (7 points) wins the group. Australia (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[5.72%] Tunisia beats France, Denmark beats Australia: France (6 points) wins the group, and either Denmark (4 points) or Tunisia (4 points) advances as runner-up, based on whichever team scores more goals in their final match. If Denmark and Tunisia both win by the same number of goals, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which Denmark leads Tunisia by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied (i.e. Denmark beats Australia 1-0, Tunisia beats France 2-1), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Denmark goes into the final match slightly leading on that metric, having received three yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Tunisia’s four yellow cards. If still tied, the team that advances is determined by a drawing of lots.

[4.8%] France and Tunisia draw, Australia beats Denmark: France (7 points) wins the group. Australia (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[3.08%] Tunisia beats France, Australia and Denmark draw: France (6 points) wins the group. Tunisia (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[2.2%] Tunisia beats France, Australia beats Denmark: France (6 points) and Australia (6 points) advances, with the order determined by goal difference, which France leads Australia by six going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which France leads Australia by four going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Tunisia beats France 2-1, Australia beats Denmark 5-0), France wins the group since it beat Australia head-to-head.

Group E

Group E was also shaken up by an early upset when Japan beat Germany last week. But Germany was given a second chance when Costa Rica beat Japan this weekend. Now every team still has a chance to qualify for the knockout stage. Spain (currently with 4 points) is guaranteed to advance if they draw or win against Japan. Japan (3 points) will advance with a win against Spain, and Costa Rica (3 points) will advance with a win against Germany. It’s not entirely in the Germans’ hands, as Germany (1 point) needs to beat Costa Rica and it needs Japan not to win against Spain in order to advance.

The matches kick off at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday, December 1.

[48.8%] Germany beats Costa Rica, Spain beats Japan: Spain (7 points) wins the group. Germany (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[20%] Germany beats Costa Rica, Spain and Japan draw: Spain (5 points) wins the group. Germany (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[11.2%] Germany beats Costa Rica, Japan beats Spain: Japan (6 points) wins the group, and either Spain or Germany advances as runner-up, based on goal difference, which Spain leads Germany by eight going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which Spain leads Germany by six going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Japan beats Spain 4-0, Germany beats Costa Rica 6-2), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Spain goes into the final match leading on that metric, having received only one yellow card in previous matches, compared to Germany’s three yellow cards. If still tied, the team that advances is determined by a drawing of lots.

[9.15%] Germany and Costa Rica draw, Spain beats Japan: Spain (7 points) wins the group. Costa Rica (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[3.75%] Germany and Costa Rica draw, Spain and Japan draw: Spain (5 points) wins the group. Japan (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[3.05%] Costa Rica beats Germany, Spain beats Japan: Spain (7 points) wins the group. Costa Rica (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[2.1%] Germany and Costa Rica draw, Japan beats Spain: Japan (6 points) wins the group. Spain (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[1.25%] Costa Rica beats Germany, Spain and Japan draw: Costa Rica (6 points) wins the group. Spain (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[0.7%] Costa Rica beats Germany, Japan beats Spain: Costa Rica (6 points) and Japan (6 points) advances, with the order determined by goal difference, which Japan leads Costa Rica by six going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the group-winner is determined by goals scored, which Japan leads Costa Rica by one going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Costa Rica beats Germany 7-0, Japan beats Spain 6-5), Costa Rica wins the group based on having previously beaten Japan head-to-head.

Group F

In Group F, underdog Morocco (currently with 4 points) is now favorite to advance, with a win or a draw against Canada guaranteeing a spot in the Round of 16 and even a loss not ruling them out. Last World Cup’s finalist Croatia (4 points) will advance with a win or a draw, while FIFA’s No. 2-ranked team in the world Belgium (3 points) needs to beat Croatia to advance. Canada (0 points) has no chance of advancing.

The matches kick off at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, December 1.

[15.6%] Croatia beats Belgium, Morocco beats Canada: Croatia (7 points) and Morocco (7 points) advances, with the order determined by goal difference, which Croatia leads Morocco by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the group winner is determined by goals scored, which Croatia leads Morocco by two going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Croatia beats Belgium 1-0, Morocco beats Canada 3-1), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Both teams go into their final matches even on that metric, having received two yellow cards each in previous matches. If still tied, the order is determined by a drawing of lots.

[12.09%] Croatia beats Belgium, Morocco and Canada draw: Croatia (7 points) wins the group. Morocco (5 points) advances as the runner-up.

[11.31%] Croatia beats Belgium, Canada beats Morocco: Croatia (7 points) wins the group. Morocco (4 points) advances as the runner-up.

[13.2%] Belgium beats Croatia, Morocco beats Canada: Morocco (7 points) wins the group. Belgium (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[11.2%] Croatia and Belgium draw, Morocco beats Canada: Morocco (7 points) wins the group. Croatia (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[10.23%] Belgium beats Croatia, Morocco and Canada draw: Belgium (6 points) wins the group. Morocco (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[9.57%] Belgium beats Croatia, Canada beats Morocco: Belgium (6 points) wins the group, and either Croatia (4 points) or Morocco (4 points) advances as runner-up, based on goal difference, which Croatia leads Morocco by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which Croatia leads Morocco by two going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Croatia loses to Belgium 2-0, Morocco loses to Canada 3-2), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Both teams go into their final matches even on this metric, having received two yellow cards each in previous matches. If still tied, the order is determined by a drawing of lots.

[8.68%] Croatia and Belgium draw, Morocco and Canada draw: Croatia (5 points) wins the group, and Morocco (5 points) advances as runner-up.

[8.12%] Croatia and Belgium draw, Canada beats Morocco: Croatia (5 points) wins the group, and either Morocco (4 points) or Belgium (4 points) advances as runner-up, based on goal difference, which Morocco leads Belgium by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which Morocco also leads Belgium by one going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Croatia and Belgium draw 1-1, Canada beats Morocco 1-0), Morocco advances because it beat Belgium head-to-head.

Group G

Like France, World Cup favorite Brazil (currently with 6 points) has already secured a spot in the Round of 16, and it’s almost certainly set to top Group G. Switzerland (3 points) will advance with a win, while Cameroon (1 point) and Serbia (1 point) each need to win to have a chance at advancing, but even then it’s not guaranteed and would be dependent on the result of the other match.

The matches kick off at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, December 2.

[32.4%] Brazil beats Cameroon, Switzerland beats Serbia: Brazil (9 points) wins the group. Switzerland (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[25.11%] Brazil beats Cameroon, Serbia beats Switzerland: Brazil (9 points) wins the group. Serbia (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[23.49%] Brazil beats Cameroon, Switzerland and Serbia draw: Brazil (9 points) wins the group. Switzerland (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[6%] Brazil and Cameroon draw, Switzerland beats Serbia: Brazil (7 points) wins the group. Switzerland (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[4.65%] Brazil and Cameroon draw, Serbia beats Switzerland: Brazil (7 points) wins the group. Serbia (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[4.35%] Brazil and Cameroon draw, Switzerland and Serbia draw: Brazil (7 points) wins the group. Switzerland (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[1.6%] Cameroon beats Brazil, Switzerland beats Serbia: Brazil (6 points) and Switzerland (6 points) advance, with the order determined by goal difference, which Brazil leads Switzerland by three going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the group winner is determined by goals scored, which Brazil leads Switzerland by two going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. Cameroon beats Brazil 1-0, Switzerland beats Serbia 2-0), Brazil wins the group based on having previously beaten Switzerland head-to-head.

[1.24%] Cameroon beats Brazil, Serbia beats Switzerland: Brazil (6 points) wins the group, and either Serbia (4 points) or Cameroon (4 points) advances as runner-up based on goal difference, which Cameroon leads Serbia by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which they go into the final matches even on. If still tied (i.e. Cameroon beats Brazil 2-1, Serbia beats Switzerland 2-0), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” Cameroon leads on this metric, having received three yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Serbia’s five. If still tied, the team that advances is determined by a drawing of lots.

[1.16%] Cameroon beats Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia draw: Brazil (6 points) wins the group, and either Switzerland (4 points) or Cameroon (4 points) advances as runner-up. If Cameroon wins by more than one goal, it would advance. If Cameroon wins by only one goal, the next tiebreaker would be goals scored, which Cameroon leads Switzerland by two going into the final matches. If they remain tied (i.e. Cameroon beats Brazil 1-0, Switzerland and Serbia draw 3-3), Switzerland advances because it beat Cameroon head-to-head.

Group H

Portugal (currently with 6 points) join France and Brazil heading into the third group stage match with a place in the knockout stage already reserved. Ghana (3 points) will advance if it wins and possibly if it draws, and South Korea (1 point) and Uruguay (1 point) each need to win to have a chance at advancing.

The matches kick off at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, December 2.

[33.63%] Portugal beats South Korea, Uruguay beats Ghana: Portugal (9 points) wins the group. Ghana (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[15.93%] Portugal beats South Korea, Uruguay and Ghana draw: Portugal (9 points) wins the group. Ghana (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[13.68%] Portugal and South Korea draw, Uruguay beats Ghana: Portugal (7 points) wins the group. Uruguay (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[9.69%] South Korea beats Portugal, Uruguay beats Ghana: Portugal (6 points) wins the group, and either Uruguay (4 points) or South Korea (4 points) advances as runner-up based on goal difference, which South Korea leads Uruguay by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which South Korea leads Uruguay by two going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. South Korea beats Portugal 1-0, Uruguay beats Ghana 3-1), the next applicable tiebreaker (since they drew head-to-head) is “fair play.” South Korea slightly leads on this metric, having received three yellow cards in previous matches, compared to Uruguay’s four. If still tied, the team that advances is determined by a drawing of lots.

[9.44%] Portugal beats South Korea, Ghana beats Uruguay: Portugal (9 points) wins the group. Ghana (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[4.59%] South Korea beats Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana draw: Portugal (6 points) wins the group, and either Ghana (4 points) or South Korea (4 points) advances as runner-up, based on goal difference, which Ghana leads South Korea by one going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the next tiebreaker is goals scored, which Ghana leads South Korea by three going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. South Korea beats Portugal 3-2, Uruguay and Ghana draw 0-0), Ghana advances because it beat South Korea head-to-head.

[6.48%] Portugal and South Korea draw, Uruguay and Ghana draw: Portugal (7 points) wins the group. Ghana (4 points) advances as runner-up.

[3.84%] Portugal and South Korea draw, Ghana beats Uruguay: Portugal (7 points) wins the group. Ghana (6 points) advances as runner-up.

[2.72%] South Korea beats Portugal, Ghana beats Uruguay: Portugal (6 points) and Ghana (6 points) advance, with the order determined by goal difference, which Portugal leads Ghana by three going into the final matches. If they remain tied, the group winner is determined by goals scored, which Portugal and Ghana are even on going into the final matches. If still tied (i.e. South Korea beats Portugal 3-1, Ghana beats Uruguay 1-0), Portugal wins the group based on having previously beaten Ghana head-to-head.

During a press conference ahead of the Tuesday World Cup match between Iran and the U.S., Iranian reporters pelted a series of political questions at the American team’s leaders.

U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter and captain Tyler Adams fielded inquiries about government relations between the two countries, as well as their personal opinions on the subject in a presser that veered sharply away from routine pre-match discussion. Berhalter and Adams responded thoughtfully, emphasizing that they were focused on the upcoming match and did not have a hand in decisions made by U.S. soccer officials or the U.S. government.
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“We support Iran’s people and Iran’s team. But that being said, we’re laser-focused on this match, as they are as well,” Adams said during the Monday press conference at the Qatar National Convention Center.

Read More: Tyler Adams Is the World Cup Captain Team USA Desperately Needs

In a notable exchange, an Iranian journalist from PressTV corrected Adams’ pronunciation of “Iran” (Adams had said “eye-ran” rather than “ee-rahn”) before asking him about racism within the U.S.

“First of all, you say you support the Iranian people but you are pronouncing our country’s name wrong. Our country is named Iran, not Iran. Please, once and for all, let’s get this clear,” said the journalist from the Iranian state-owned Press TV. “Second of all, are you okay to be representing a country that has so much discrimination against black people in its own borders?” the state reporter continued.

Adams immediately apologized for mispronouncing the country’s name, and offered his perspective as an African-American who grew up in a white family.

“There’s discrimination everywhere you go,” he said. “In the U.S., we’re continuing to make progress every single day…through education, I think it’s super important. Like you just educated me now on the pronunciation of your country. It’s a process. As long as you see progress, that’s the most important thing.”

At one point, an Iranian journalist asked about a social media post from the U.S. Soccer Twitter account that controversially included an edited Iranian flag image without the symbol of the Islamic Republic. (The account removed the post and has since posted the unedited flag.)

“The players and the staff knew nothing about what was being posted,” Berhalter replied. “Sometimes things are out of our control. We believe that it’s going to be a match [in which] the result will depend on who puts more effort in, who executes better on the field, and we’re not focused on those outside things. And all we can do on our behalf is apologize on behalf of the players and the staff.”

The oppositional questions continued. One reporter claimed that, due to “the high rise of inflation and economic problems,” there was “no support of your team” within the U.S. (In response, Berhalter cited the roughly 20 million people who watched the game between the American team and England.) A reporter called the U.S. team “unprofessional” for closing its training to the press after 15 minutes the night before, though that practice is widespread and in accordance with FIFA rules. Someone even asked Berhalter why he had not pressured the U.S. to remove a specific Naval presence near Iran.

The Iranian journalists present were a mix of representatives from state media and other sources. All media in the country faces tight governmental rules and restrictions—in its 2022 Press Freedom index, the international group Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 178 out of 180 countries. Since mid-September, Iranian protesters have been demonstrating against the government and its abuse of womens’ rights.

Tuesday’s match between the U.S. and Iran determines which team will move onto the Round of 16. The U.S. will need to win to advance, while Iran will need to either win or draw.

Footage of maskless fans packed into Qatar’s stadiums for the World Cup is putting China—facing rising discontent over its continuing strict Covid protocols—in a bind.

Footage reviewed by Bloomberg News and shared on social media appear to show state broadcaster China Central Television pulling back on footage of the stadium crowds compared to other international networks. While not removing them completely, CCTV often substitutes crowd close-ups with video of coaches, the team bench or anything other than the thousands of jubilant or despondent fans.

Read More: Weary and Thirsty, World Cup Fans Try to Find Joy at a Complicated Tournament
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The World Cup is the first major international sporting event taking place in an atmosphere of relaxed Covid measures, following stricter protocols at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and 2022 Beijing Winter Games. That’s forced broadcasters like CCTV to resort to a familiar playbook, which includes a 30-second delay on the games that gives censors more time to respond to anything that might be looked down upon in Beijing.

“CCTV has long been notoriously cautious when it comes to sporting events over which they have no broadcast control, largely for fear of what might be seen in the crowd, such as offending banners or signs,” said Mark Dreyer, author of “Sporting Superpower: An Insider’s View on China’s Quest to Be the Best.”

In 2019, CCTV cut broadcasts of National Basketball Association games after the general manager of the Houston Rockets tweeted support for protesters in Hong Kong. The NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, later said the resulting dispute with China cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars.

But now, just the images of the crowds at the World Cup are a political message to Covid enforcers and online censors in China, which has seen rare public unrest in major cities including Shanghai, Beijing and Wuhan.

The tournament’s opening ceremony on Nov. 20 prompted a surge of comments to popular messaging platform WeChat about the lack of masks. On Weibo, a Twitter-like platform, topics related to a recent match were among the top trending topics Monday morning, after posts about protests in China were scrubbed overnight.

‘Keep Locking Down’

That gave viewers opportunities to discuss more than just the players’ performances, often with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

“You can’t see anyone wearing a mask at the World Cup, since everyone in China knows that all the foreigners are dead, we should just keep doing Covid tests and keep locking down then,” one Weibo user wrote.

Another said that “After watching the World Cup, I didn’t expect the Qataris to be unable to afford masks. I wonder how long they would need to quarantine after the World Cup to eliminate the virus.”

Last week, a viral post was censored on WeChat after the unidentified author asked why the crowds in Qatar—where masking is not mandatory—don’t need to follow rules still commonplace in China. “Aren’t they on the same planet we live? Doesn’t the Covid virus hurt them?” the unidentified person wrote.

Read More: China Just Relaxed Some Pandemic Measures, But Experts Suggest ‘Zero-COVID’ Probably Won’t Be Going Away Anytime Soon

A call to CCTV’s helpline for comment went unanswered.

Until the final match on Dec. 18, the games in Qatar will likely remain a potentially potent reminder of how far China lags behind the world in relaxing Covid restrictions.

In a separate discussion about the tournament recently, one social media commentator called for an end to the Covid tests and health codes commonplace in China. That prompted another user to ask what would come next.

“Then we will live a normal life, be able to leave this land; we can revel in football matches again, and live our pre-2019 lives again,” the person responded.

DOHA, Qatar — The U.S. Soccer Federation briefly displayed Iran’s national flag on social media without the emblem of the Islamic Republic, saying the move supported protesters in Iran ahead of the two nations’ World Cup match Tuesday.

Iran’s government reacted by accusing America of removing the name of God from its national flag.

The USSF decision added yet-another political firestorm to the Middle East’s first World Cup, one organizers had hoped would be spared of off-the-field controversies.

It occurred as the U.S. prepared to face Iran on Tuesday in a decisive World Cup match, which was already freighted by the decades of enmity between the countries and the nationwide protests challenging Tehran’s theocratic government.
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The USSF said in a statement Sunday morning it decided to forego the official flag on social media accounts to show “support for the women in Iran fighting for basic human rights.”

The Twitter account of the U.S. men’s team displayed a banner with the squad’s matches in the group stage, with the Iranian flag only bearing its green, white and red colors. The same was seen in a post on its Facebook and Instagram accounts laying out the point totals so far in its group.

By Sunday afternoon, the normal flag with the emblem had been restored in the Twitter banner and the Facebook and Instagram posts with the altered flag had been removed.

“We wanted to show our support for the women in Iran with our graphic for 24 hours,” the federation said.

Federation spokesman Neil Buethe would not say whether the original decision had been cleared by USSF President Cindy Parlow Cone, a former national team player.

“This was a decision within the federation,” he said. “I’m not going to get into who knew and who didn’t.”

Asked whether there had been discussions with diplomatic entities, Buethe said: “There have been at certain times. I’m not going to talk about those, but, again, this is our decision not anyone else’s or pressure from anyone else.”

The USSF displayed the official Iranian flag in a graphic showing Group B standings on its website.

The brief absence of the emblem came as monthslong demonstrations challenged Iran’s government following the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by the country’s morality police.

The protests have seen at least 450 people killed since they started, as well as over 18,000 arrested, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, an advocacy group following the demonstrations.

Iran has not released casualty or arrest figures for months and alleges without providing evidence that the protests have been fomented by its enemies abroad, including the U.S.

Tehran also restricts media access and has detained over 63 reporters and photographers since the demonstrations began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, making covering the unrest that much more difficult.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations and its soccer federation did not respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press. As comments raged online, Iranian state television described the U.S. federation as “removing the symbol of Allah” from the Iranian flag.

Iran’s semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Safiollah Fagahanpour, an adviser to the Iranian Football Federation, saying that the “measures taken regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran flag are against the law” of FIFA competitions.

“They must be held responsible,” Fagahanpour said. “Obviously they want to affect Iran’s performance against the U.S by doing this.”

The Islamic Republic emblem, designed in 1980, is four curves with a sword between them. It represents the Islamic saying: “There is no god but God.” It also resembles a tulip or lotus.

At the top and the bottom of the flag, there are 22 inscriptions of “God is Great” as well, which honors the date on the Persian calendar when the Islamic Revolution took hold.

The flag has become a point of contention at the World Cup. Apparent pro-government supporters have waved it, shouting at those demonstrating over Amini’s death. Others at matches have waved Iran’s lion and sun flag, an emblem of its former ruler, the late Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

More security forces could be seen at Iran’s last match against Wales. In the capital Tehran, anti-riot police — the same ones cracking down on protests — waved the Iranian flag after the Wales win, angering demonstrators.

On Thursday, Neymar sustained a lateral ligament injury on his right ankle during Brazil’s opening win against Serbia following a tackle from Nikola Milenkovic, leaving fans wondering when he will return.

The team’s doctor also said Neymar had small bone swelling.

The Paris-Saint Germain forward is working “24 hours a day” to recover from his ankle injury and continue to represent his team, Brazilian player Marquinhos told the Associated Press Sunday. “We don’t know when it’s going to happen, but we hope we will have him with us again as soon as possible and in good health mentally and physically.”
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Brazil is set to play Switzerland on Monday at 11 a.m. ET.

Will Neymar return?

Neymar, 30, won’t be playing on Monday, but Brazilian soccer manager Tite seems confident that he will return. “I believe that Neymar and Danilo will play [in] the World Cup,” Tite said during a press conference. “I believe in that. Medically, clinically, they can talk more about the stages of the treatment. I have no place to talk. I trust that we will be able to use both of them.”

Following the match against Serbia, Tite says that Neymar was in physiotherapy until five or six in the morning.

Tite added that he had to force Neymar and Danilo, another injured Brazilian player, to stop their physiotherapy and attend the latest training with the team.

The soccer star is working hard to ensure he can continue playing, posting updated pictures of his swollen ankle on his Instagram story and dedicating an Instagram post to the match, calling it one of the most difficult moments of his career. “I have an injury, yes, it’s going to hurt but I’m sure I’ll have the chance to come back because I will do my best to help my country, my teammates and myself,” Neymar said in his post.

Sources told ESPN that Neymar will likely also miss the third match of the group stage against Cameroon, though there has been no official announcement by any team spokesperson.

Brazil’s manager admits it will be hard to find someone who can play at Neymar’s level, but the team has a strong roster to choose from. Neymar’s teammates are more optimistic about the potential of the team.

“We are talking about one of the best players in the world. It’s hard to find someone else on his level,” Brazil midfielder Casemiro said Saturday. “But we have many quality players in the squad who can do a good job replacing him.”

Neymar has a history of getting injured

Neymar has a bad streak of luck at tournaments, suffering a separate ligament injury in a friendly match against Qatar just before the start of the 2019 Copa America. Brazil went on to win the championship without their star player, but Neymar was also left off the roster for the entire tournament.

During the 2014 World Cup, Neymar’s time on the field was also cut short when Juan Camilo Zuniga kneed the soccer star, breaking a vertebra during a quarterfinal match against Colombia.

That injury could have ended his soccer career, Neymar later revealed in an interview with The Player’s Tribune. “I couldn’t move my legs. And the doctor took me out and I started to … to cry. Because it was very painful and I didn’t feel anything. I didn’t feel my legs, so I went to the hospital that’s in the stadium,” he said.

His team then lost against Germany 7-1 in the following semifinal match.

Whenever the U.S. and Iran, two geopolitical rivals who severed formal diplomatic ties in April 1980, meet in any sort of international sporting competition, it’s more than a game. The Group B World Cup match taking place between the two nations in Doha on Nov. 29 is far from an exception.

Mass protests have erupted across Iran since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died on Sept. 16 while in police custody after she allegedly violated the country’s mandatory hijab laws. At least 445 demonstrators have been killed since the protests began, including 63 children, according to the Tehran-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Meanwhile, Iran’s World Cup soccer players refused to sing the national anthem, in solidarity with the protestors, before the team’s opening game against England on Nov. 21. (Iran lost that game, 6-2. The players mouthed along to the anthem before the team’s dramatic 2-0 victory over Wales on Nov. 25, days after former national player Voria Ghafouri was arrested for “spreading propaganda;” Ghafouri is a longtime critic of the regime.)
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Read More: Team USA’s World Cup Fate Is in Their Own Hands Following Tie With England

In short, the stakes couldn’t be higher. And we haven’t even mentioned the soccer part. After Iran’s victory over Wales and America’s 0-0 draw against England on Black Friday, the U.S. must beat Iran to advance to the knockout stage. With an Iran victory; Iran advances. A draw would put Iran in the Round of 16, if England beats or draws with Wales. For the U.S., failing to make it to the Round of 16 would be another crushing World Cup disappointment, a setback that could quell the team’s momentum going into the 2026 tournament, which it will host along with Mexico and Canada.

It’s simply win or go home.

Iran is looking for a repeat

This marks the second World Cup meeting between the U.S. and Iran. The first, back in 1998 in France, unfolded under very different circumstances. The 1979-80 hostage crisis, in which Iranian students held more than 50 U.S. diplomats and citizens hostage for more than a year, was less of a distant memory. That followed the 1979 revolution that forced longtime U.S. ally and autocrat Mohammad Reza Shah, the last Shah of Iran, into exile: Ayatollah Khomeini came into power declaring Iran an “Islamic Republic.” Intense opposition to the U.S. was a core—and popular—tenet of Khomeini’s theocracy because of historical grievances. That includes the 1953 CIA-backed coup of Iran’s last democratic leader, support for the unpopular Shah in subsequent years, and backing Saddam Hussein’s 1980 invasion of Iran—a war that lasted eight years and left at least an estimated 500,000 dead.

Still, there are some lessons from that first meeting that are useful for today, especially for the Americans. Most pointedly: try to harness the longstanding geopolitical rivalry at play. (Those tensions continue to run high: on Wednesday, Washington levied economic sanctions on three Iranian security officials due to the regime’s crackdown on protests.)

Back in 1998, Team USA went out of its way to downplay the political rivalry with Iran and embraced the strategy of just focusing on the game. Iran then beat the U.S. 2-1 in Lyon, eliminating it from the tournament. The loss was a low-point for American soccer, which seemed on the upswing after the U.S. hosted a successful 1994 World Cup.

All about politics

Zooming in from Qatar a few hours before analyzing the France-Australia Group stage game for a Spanish-language broadcaster, Steve Sampson, the U.S. coach back in 1998, says he’s spent a lot of time over the past 24 years thinking about what he would have done differently going into that Iran game. “We were asked by FIFA, by U.S. Soccer, by the organizing committee in France, to make it about football, and not about politics. And I went along with that,” says Sampson. “In hindsight, I would have made it about politics. A coach’s job is to use any and every tool available to him to prepare his team.”

Sampson notes he was a young coach—41 then—who was inclined to fall in line with institutional wishes rather than go rogue. He resigned after the World Cup, after a 0-3 showing in which the U.S. finished last among 32 teams. If Sampson could do it again, he says, he would have leaned into the geopolitical rivalry—just as the Iranians did. “So many Americans have been hurt so dramatically by the Iranian regime,” says Sampson. “We could have played for them.”

Read More: Weary and Thirsty, World Cup Fans Try to Find Joy at a Complicated Tournament

Strategic differences aside, tensions were running high in the days prior to the game. A week prior to the Jun. 21, 1998 kick-off, French television aired an American movie, Not Without My Daughter, which depicted the harsh conditions of life in Iran. The Iranian embassy announced that “Iran is considering removing its national team from the World Cup in protest against the broadcast of the anti-Iranian film.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also threatened to pull Iranian players because he did not want them shaking American hands, as FIFA procedure dictated. But the referee, Urs Meier from Switzerland, proposed a sensible solution. The players instead posed for a group picture at center-field. The Iranians gave the American athletes white roses, a symbol of peace, and both teams exchanged banners.

By the time of kick-off, though, security was ramped up “10-fold,” according to Sampson. A FIFA official said there were 150 armed police officers—”unprecedented for a World Cup match”—on duty. (The enhanced presence was there, in part, because of fears that members of Iranian political opposition group, Mojahedin Khalq, would disrupt the match.)

Iran took a more hawkish approach to the match-up. According to a November article in the journal Middle Eastern Studies, Iranian defender Mohammad Khakpour said that many families of war victims from the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq conflict reached out to the athletes—detailing at length how significant the match was for them, and begging them to defeat the U.S. “Many families of martyrs are expecting us to win,” forward Khodadad Azizi said before the game.

Meanwhile, Iranian media hammered the U.S. in pre-game coverage. One two-part editorial, for example, in the hardline newspaper Jomhuri-ye Eslami, drummed up national fervor. The piece was headlined “The United States Is Still the Iranian Nation’s Enemy Number One.”

During the match itself, a few early U.S. shots hit the post. In the 40th minute, a beautiful Hamid Estili header gave Iran a 1-0 lead. “It became very, very clear that for Iran, that was much more than a soccer game,” says Fox Sports commentator Alexi Lalas, a defender on the 1998 U.S. team. “They harnessed that in a way that we didn’t.”

Sampson says that his Iran’s coach at the 1998 World Cup, Jalal Talebi, later shared with him that at half-time, Iranian government officials came into the locker room and collected the passports of the players. According to Sampson, Talebi said that officials told the players that “if they didn’t beat the United States, they were not welcome back into Iran, nor were their families welcome to leave Iran.” (Talebi could not be reached for comment; an Iranian soccer official in Qatar did not return TIME’s request for comment.)

Iran essentially put the game away with a goal in the 84th minute. A Brian McBride goal in the 87th minute gave the U.S. one last hope, but it was too late.

After the final whistle, the U.S. team failed to hide its devastation. Sampson and some players cried. “It was a complete fiasco and failure and embarrassment,” says Lalas, who didn’t play the entire tournament.

The New York Times reported after Iran’s win that “in Teheran, thousands of celebrating fans took to the streets, some women without their scarves.” Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was exultant. “This unique struggle is what has given victory and glory to our nation in the course of the revolution, throughout the years of holy defense, and in all of the Iranian nation’s conflicts with the Great Satan,” he said after the game.

On the line

Going into this final Group stage game against Iran on Tuesday, it would be difficult for the American players to view their Iranian counterparts as political enemies. After all, they have signaled opposition to Iran’s repressive regime. Yehuda Blanga, a professor at Israel’s Bar-llan University who co-wrote the Middle Eastern Studies article, says that while most Iranian players supported their government in 1998, that’s not the case this time around.

Sampson advises his coaching counterpart all these years later, Gregg Berhalter, to acknowledge both this historical rivalry and the protest movement going on in Iran. But at the same time, he says Berhalter can’t show too much deference to the opposition. “Don’t buy into the sympathy piece,” says Sampson. “It’s real, and we appreciate that. Just focus on coming fully prepared to do the business on the field.”

In other words, the U.S. can take a cue from England, a team that has put progressive values front and center but dominated Iran on the pitch. If the past is any guide, football diplomacy might only end in tears in a losing World Cup locker room, wondering what could have been.

After Iran’s seismic 2022 World Cup win over Wales early Friday afternoon blew Group B wide open, it was incumbent on Team USA to lay down a marker in their match against England—a performance to prove the buzz surrounding this inexperienced but talented squad isn’t mere hype.

Gregg Berhalter’s youngsters didn’t disappoint on a balmy evening at Qatar’s Al Bayt Stadium, where they went toe-to-toe with the Three Lions in a hard-fought 0-0 draw that keeps chances of qualifying for the knockout stages in their own hands. The result leaves England with four points, Iran with three, the U.S. with two and Wales with just one. A win against Iran on Tuesday would be enough to see the USMNT qualify from the group.
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“It was a really good performance from us. There were stretches of the game when we had control and pushed them back,” said Christian Pulisic, who was named man of the match, during postgame press.

A clash between Team USA and England is on paper a mouthwatering prospect, and despite the goalless scoreline, this was a match with plenty of action. England is among the favorites to lift the famous golden trophy, sitting fifth in FIFA’s World Ranking and 11 places ahead of the U.S.

Still, England manager Gareth Southgate cautioned against any superiority complex on Thursday, reminding journalists that England had never beaten the U.S. in a major tournament. “We are good at talking highly of ourselves as a nation on the basis of very little evidence,” said Southgate. “We’ve got to perform on the pitch,” he said. A 1-0 loss in the Brazil 1950 World Cup was followed by a 1-1 draw at South Africa 2010, before which British tabloid The Sun printed an infamously regrettable front page that proclaimed the group “easy.” (England failed to progress.)

Read More: The History Behind the U.S. and England’s World Cup Rivalry

Indeed, it was Team USA that started the brighter side. Juventus winger Weston McKinnie—hair dyed red, white and blue—terrorized England defenders and Chelsea forward Christian Pulisic ventured deep to disrupt the England lines, spraying the ball crisply to each wing. But soon England asserted their authority with a neat passing move down the right wing which resulted in a shooting chance for captain Harry Kane, but was deflected.

After a ragged quarter-hour of sustained pressure, Team USA came back into the game. At 16 minutes, McKennie crossed for Haji Wright, who headed narrowly wide. Then McKinnie blazed a shot over the bar from a low cross when he really should’ve tested Jordan Pickford in the England goal.

The game was now wide open with chances seesawing at both ends. Sergino Dest dribbled into the box at 40 minutes, only for his strike to be blocked, while Pulisic nodded wide soon after. But England had two chances to break the deadlock just before half-time. First, Bukayo Saka shot over from five yards after neat interplay and a cutback from the England left wing. Then Mason Mount forced U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner into a smart save with a powerful low drive.

In their match against Wales, the USMNT had 56% of possession, though Tim Weah’s solitary goal was their only shot on target. On Thursday, Berhalter talked about the need to “refine some of our movements” and “get the ball in the penalty box a little bit quicker.”

Enter Yunus Musah. Against Wales, the 19-year-old became the youngest U.S. player to have played at a World Cup. Born in New York City to Ghanaian parents, he grew up mainly in the U.K. and Italy—in fact, he made more than 30 appearances for youth England teams—and was eligible to pay for all four nations. At the time of the last meeting between these teams—a 3-0 win for England in November 2018, during which seven of the current U.S. squad were playing—Musah still represented England youth teams, often as captain.

Oh, how England must regret losing him. Musah was a formidable presence prowling across the center of the park, disrupting the England midfield, stealing possession and breaking forward with menace. He hit a rasping shot at the 27 minute-mark that was unfortunately straight at Pickford. Just after the half-hour mark, McKennie did a neat drawback and turn by the half-way line, sprinted forward and fed Musah. His inch-perfect pass to Pulisic allowed the Chelsea forward to hit a stinging left foot shot that struck the top of the England goalpost.

Speaking before the match, Team USA captain Tyler Adams noted how much Major League Soccer (MLS) had improved since he plied his trade with the New York Red Bulls. Yet Berhalter has preferred fielding members of his squad based overseas. Against Wales, all but one of his starters represented clubs in Europe—the highest number ever for the U.S. in a World Cup match. (The only MLS representative was Walker Zimmerman, who unfortunately gave away the late penalty for a foul on Gareth Bale.) On Friday, it was again ten of the 11 starters who played overseas, though with Haji Wright of Turkey’s Antalyaspor replacing Norwich City’s Josh Sargent.

Team USA emerged stronger after the break. A flurry of USMNT corners on the hour mark kept England pegged back in their own box, while Pulisic also had a couple of shots blocked. Berhalter brought on Dortmund forward Giovanni Reyna and Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson for the final quarter-hour but neither could decisively affect the game. England almost stole the points in stoppage time when Kane sent a powerful header from a free kick wide, but to lose would have been grossly unfair for the Americans. Group B remains delicately poised going into the final game.

On Friday, U.S. fans taunted their England rivals with chants of “it’s called soccer” for the U.K. national sport. The USMNT can be rightly proud of a tie against England. But perhaps leave out any “easy” quips.

Rafters shook, tears flowed, and throats burned raw at Doha’s Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on Friday afternoon, as Iran pulled off one of the shocks of the Qatar 2022 World Cup by defeating Wales with two stoppage time goals in a riveting game that will echo down the ages.

Iran took the lead when substitute Rouzbeh Cheshmi struck a brilliant curling shot into the top corner from 25 yards. As Wales pushed forward in search of an equalizer, Iran countered in the 11th minute of stoppage time and Ramin Rezaeian sealed the 2-0 win with a neat finish. Cheshmi, awarded player of the match, later said the win was “due to the help of God and the work of the whole team.”
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The victory keeps Iran’s hopes of qualifying for the tournament’s knockout stages alive before their final Group B game against Team USA on Tuesday—and it’s remarkable given the grim political backdrop that their players have had to contend with. The team’s stance on the mass protests at home over the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini for allegedly wearing a headscarf incorrectly, has proven unnervingly divisive.

Read More: Weary and Thirsty, World Cup Fans Try to Find Joy at a Complicated Tournament

The team’s decision not to sing the national anthem before their 6-2 defeat to England on Sunday was equally heralded and condemned by their compatriots, and afterwards Iran coach Carlos Queiroz talked of the pressure his young team was under as certain factions wanted to “kill them.” In an emotional diatribe, he urged supporters who wouldn’t back the team to “stay away.” But the squad was all caught up in celebration following the victory against Wales, as they repeatedly hoisted the 69-year-old high into the air in giddy celebration near the center circle.

“They deserved the win,” said Wales manager Rob Page. “We weren’t in the game at all.”

Before facing Wales the Iranian team did sing their national anthem, albeit timidly, which some observers attributed to the arrest the previous day of Voria Ghafouri, a former national team player, who has been outspoken in his criticism of the government, on charges of spreading propaganda. Many took Ghafouri’s detention as a threat to the team to fall in line.

Whatever the truth, Iran appeared transformed since their rout by England. They began in a high tempo style, harrying out of possession, dangerous from dead ball situations, and launching lightning counter attacks. Iran had a slick team goal narrowly disallowed for offside in the first half and hit the post twice in the second. Then Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey received a red card for felling Iran striker Mehdi Taremi as he was bearing down on goal. Already in the ascendancy, Iran smelt blood following his dismissal.

“We played with a sense of unity, cohesion, and after the first game got back to our roots,” Queiroz told reporters after the game. “This was a chance to spot the bleeding and get back to credibility.”

Iran’s supporters are arguably the noisiest in Qatar yet divisions were stark. Around half of the traveling fans who arrived are affiliated with (and thus receiving tickets through) the Iranian Football Federation—and so are typically more loyal to the regime. Then there were thousands of supporters from the vibrant Iranian diaspora, many of whom could be seen wearing T-shirts protesting the death of Amini.

Read More: How to Watch the 2022 World Cup

Ahead of the match, regime backers were seen harassing those who protesting the government. Shouting matches between fans chanting “Woman, Life, Liberty,” the clarion call of the demonstrations in Iran, and the “Islamic Republic!” rang out. Stadium officials also blocked Iranians from bringing pre-Islamic Revolutionary flags into the game.

“Iranian people are fighting for their lives, fighting for freedom,” says Thomas Nabi, 76, wearing a shirt that read “Free Iran.” Nabi was born in Iran but moved to the U.S. over three decades ago and now lives in Virginia. “All the young people here are against the regime.”

The debate over the protests will continue. But in terms of soccer, Group B looks incredibly tight. Iran memorably put the U.S out of the 1998 World Cup with a 2-1 thrashing.

“Everything is open in the group,” Quieroz told reporters afterwards. “What is important is that we have our goals and dreams in our hands.”

The first time the U.S. men’s national team faced England in a World Cup, in 1950, a miracle occurred. The hastily-assembled U.S. squad—which was partly made up of amateur players who held day jobs including as teachers, dishwashers, and mail carriers—knew that England had the stronger side. “We certainly didn’t entertain any ideas we were gonna beat ’em,” the former U.S. defender Harry Keough reflected decades later. “But we figured we could give them a battle for it.”

That battle came to a head at the 37th minute of the first half, when the Haitian-born U.S. forward Joe Gaetjens managed to graze the ball just enough to sink it into the English goal. England never recovered, and the match ended in a 1-0 U.S. victory. So unthinkable was the result that many news outlets, including the New York Times, presumed that the reported score was a typo.
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The last surviving member of the 1950 U.S. squad died in 2018, and few people alive today will remember that match. Still, its legacy looms large over the soccer rivalry between the U.S. and England, whose teams are slated to go head-to-head on Friday in Doha’s Al Bayt stadium. The last time these two nations faced each other in a men’s World Cup was more than 10 years ago, in South Africa. It ended in a 1-1 draw. Though England is the favorite to win this match in Qatar, American fans are hopeful that their team can once again pull off a miracle.

Read More: Meet the 22-Year-Old Star Who Could Make Team USA a World Cup Contender

More recent history doesn’t bode as favorably for the U.S. The team qualified for this World Cup after failing to do so four years ago in what was seen as a major setback in the effort to elevate the world’s most popular game on the American sports stage—the success of the U.S. women’s national team notwithstanding. Against England, in particular, the U.S. men’s team has lost the vast majority of its matches—all, in fact, but the 1950 World Cup group stage victory in Brazil and a 2-0 win at the 1993 U.S. Cup. Team USA is markedly younger and less experienced than the Three Lions (as the English squad is known), who arrived in Qatar off the back of formidable performances during last year’s UEFA European Football Championship as well as the 2018 World Cup.

But if the past is any guide, neither side should make any assumptions about how Friday’s game will go. England coach Gareth Southgate cautioned against complacency in a post-match news conference on Monday, noting that the U.S. team will “be coming for us full throttle.” And U.S. midfielder Christian Pulisic warned as much in the days leading up to the tournament. “We don’t look at the odds and we’re not at the World Cup just to make up the numbers,” he told Britain’s Daily Mirror. “We go, we give it everything in every game we play, we make America proud. Wherever that takes us we have to wait and see.”

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of match day.

When is the game and how can you watch it in the U.S.?

Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Eastern time, Friday, Nov. 25. Viewers in the U.S. can watch the match live on FOX or via a variety of streaming options.

How have both teams fared in the tournament so far?

Both squads will enter Al Bayt stadium undefeated on Friday. England kicked off its 2022 World Cup on Monday with an emphatic 6-2 victory over Iran. Although the U.S. secured an early lead against Wales later that day with a stunning goal from forward Timothy Weah, the match ended in a draw after a penalty scored by Welsh captain Gareth Bale.

Read More: Team USA Held to 1-1 Tie Against Wales in World Cup Opening Game

In terms of points, which will ultimately determine which two teams in Group B will advance to the knockout stage, England tops the leaderboard with three points, followed by the U.S. and Wales with one point apiece, and Iran at zero. Assuming a win against Iran next week, which is poised to be the U.S.’s easiest (though by no means guaranteed) match in this stage of the tournament, victory or a draw against England on Friday would put the U.S. in a strong position to make it to the round of 16. If Team USA advances, it would face one of the top two teams from Group A—which includes the Netherlands, Ecuador, Senegal, and host nation Qatar. But a loss to England could put those hopes in the balance.

How much does history inform this matchup?

The U.S. and England have developed a healthy—and, at times, even meme-worthy—soccer rivalry over the years. Although the U.S. players are self-described “underdogs” in this World Cup, American fans know that the team has the capacity to deliver upsets against giants of the sport, having beaten Brazil in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Portugal in the 2002 World Cup, and, of course, England in 1950.

When the U.S. defeated the Three Lions in Brazil 72 years ago, the news barely registered at home, according to Geoffrey Douglas, the author of the 1996 book The Game of Their Lives, which chronicled the story of the match and those who participated in it. When the players returned home after being knocked out of the competition, they discovered that “nobody knew anything about it,” Douglas tells TIME, noting that as a sport, soccer “just wasn’t on the radar” in the way that more popular games such as baseball and football were. It wasn’t until decades later—as soccer’s significance grew and as the story of the 1950 World Cup began to be memorialized in popular culture, including in a 2005 film based on Douglas’s book—that Americans started to become more aware of their country’s historic upset.

Read More: Your Complete Guide to the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

As much as the U.S. squad will feel that it has something to prove, England will equally be eying this match as a crucial one to win in its quest for World Cup glory. After all, the Three Lions have suffered some heartbreaking defeats in their recent international competitions, including their loss to Italy in a penalty shootout during the European Championship final last year and their semifinal defeat at the hands of Croatia during the 2018 World Cup. The pressure to finally ensure that football’s coming home, as goes England fans’ popular rallying cry, a nod to the country’s invention of the sport Americans call soccer, will weigh heavily on Southgate’s team.

What are both teams’ strengths and weaknesses?

England’s squad under manager Southgate has been frequently criticized for being too defensive and overly cautious, a notion Monday’s 6-2 result against Iran may help dispel. The U.S. team is seen as having the reverse problem, lacking a solid defense on its backline.

But the England team is widely regarded as the favorite to win this game, and with good reason. England has seen a resurgence under Southgate, boosted in part by a young yet internationally-tested squad, including a number of rising stars, such as the 21-year-old forward Bukayo Saka.

Even with its younger players, England is fielding one of the most internationally-seasoned squads in this tournament—its captain Harry Kane was the top goalscorer in the 2018 World Cup. The U.S., on the other hand, claims one of the youngest teams, second only to Ghana, with an average age of 25. While the American players’ youth could be seen as an asset when it comes to the energy and intensity they can bring to matches, it can also be seen as a disadvantage: Team USA’s absence from the 2018 competition means that the squad has almost no World Cup experience, save for 2014 veteran DeAndre Yedlin.

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Nevertheless, players in the current U.S. squad have been sourced from some of the world’s top professional teams, including those competing in the toughest leagues in Europe. “We’ve never had a team that has had so many players who have been playing at such a high level on their club teams,” says Djorn Buchholz, the executive director of the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Texas, “and not just sitting on the bench, but starting.”

How important is this World Cup for the U.S.?

While Team USA is preoccupied with the World Cup at hand, it will undoubtedly also be thinking ahead to 2026, when the U.S. is slated to co-host the competition with neighbors Mexico and Canada.

“As long as they can stay healthy and keep playing at high levels, you’re going to see them in 2026 having had a World Cup under their belts,” says Buchholz. “And I think that’s going to be incredibly advantageous to us in 2026.”

An older, more experienced U.S. team bolstered by home turf advantage could emerge as a serious contender in four years’ time—one with the potential to take on not just England, but any national team. That, at least, is what fans such as Buchholz are hoping for. After all, miracles can happen.

Asked why he chose to stay on the MSC Poesia, one of three huge cruise liners currently docked in Doha for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, Australia fan Rob Maurich gives a straightforward reply: “Alcohol.”

Liquor is heavily restricted in the tiny Gulf nation, available at certain times in luxury hotels and a single official FIFA Fan Festival where beer is only sold between 7 p.m. and 1 a.m. (Qatar also has one liquor store but purchases are limited to non-Muslim residents.) Cruise ships are exempt from these rules, meaning—win, lose, or tie—Maurich and his buddies can knock back cold ones into the early hours. “Particularly after the late games, you get back to the boat by 1:30 a.m., and then everyone rolls in for a few nightcaps,” he says. “We’ve had a couple of late ones!”
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Of course, this comes with a cost. The price of cruise ship cabins were initially advertised at around $250 per night but were being booked for over $1,000 as the tournament neared. Erik Dahdouh, a consultant from Sweden, is spending $400 a night for a tiny, windowless cabin on the albeit-luxurious MSC Europa. He’s found the entire spectacle in Doha rather underwhelming. “It’s just really empty everywhere,” says Dahdouh. “We walked back through the city and there’s nobody other than migrant workers with Argentina shirts.”

FIFA and the Qatari government have spent the last 12 years insisting that meticulous preparations were being made for the first World Cup ever held in the Arab world. But scrutiny has dogged Qatar as human rights groups and much of the world’s media focus on the exploitation of migrant labor, the government’s criminalization of same-sex relationships, and uneasy questions over how a tiny though incredibly wealthy Gulf nation came to host world’s biggest sporting event. “When the original bid went through, most people in the football industry thought it was laughable, that it wasn’t serious,” says Geoff Pearson, a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester whose research focuses on law and security within soccer.

Read More: Thousands of Migrant Workers Died in Qatar’s Extreme Heat. The World Cup Forced a Reckoning

Many fans have chosen to stay away, but those who have made the journey to Doha express a determination not to let the myriad controversies tarnish their experience, despite stifling policing, including the relentless checking of identity documents, and unpredictable regulations such as the 11th hour decision to ban alcohol sales outside stadiums. It’s an uphill battle, however.

“It’s very spacious, very clean, people are very friendly,” says Con Harboglou, a public servant from Melbourne who traveled to support Australia with his 18-year-old son, Joseph. “But I don’t think it’s got the spark it should, and I think there’s going to be a lot less interest and fewer fans with this World Cup, unfortunately, because of people thinking about corruption and other [controversies].”

Around 3 million fans traveled to Russia in 2018 but only 1.2 million are expected in Qatar. Still, this year’s tournament is expected to shatter television viewership records, with some 5 billion people tuning in from around the globe. And despite the controversy over the diminished availability of Budweiser—which pays around $75 million to be associated with the World Cup—FIFA announced it has sold out all its commercial sponsorship packages. Not that traveling fans will be toasting that development.

But while finding—rather than recovering from—beer has perversely been the biggest headache for many fans at this year’s tournament, it’s far from the only gripe. Guests at some expensive hotels have found they cannot watch the World Cup anywhere on the premises, since host broadcaster BeIN Sports has charged an eye-watering 100,000 Qatari riyals ($27,500) subscription fee for commercial enterprises to show games. That has meant far too many businesses do not show the games at all.

“It’s a weird feeling,” says Annie Borgwardt, a dentist from Stockholm, who was at the Argentina-Saudi Arabia match. “You don’t feel it’s really any real life so to speak. It feels like a theme park, nothing feels genuine.”

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Yet not everyone agrees with that sentiment. The Argentina-Saudi Arabia match saw the latter pull off an upset for the ages, causing an outpouring of joy among much of the Arab world. Even Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose country had been the target of a four-year Saudi-led blockade—which ended in 2021—over its alleged support of Islamist groups around the region could be seen heartily waving a Saudi flag during the game.

“The World Cup is about [soccer], not beer,” says Farid, 26, an Algerian who previously studied in Qatar and returned to Doha to see old friends and is supporting Morocco in the World Cup. “Why should a country be excluded just because the people don’t like alcohol?”

“It’s not very attractive for fans”

Some fans have shelled out over $200 for a plastic tent with no A/C or running water. Others have been more fortunate. Rocky Martin, 32, an engineer from Portland, Or., opted for a converted “deluxe shipping container” near the Mall of Qatar for around $200 a night, which he’s sharing with a friend. “It’s got two beds, shower, toilet, refrigerator, and air conditioning,” he says. “But I don’t anticipate spending much time there.”

Meanwhile, security arrangements have lurched between overbearing and outright dangerous. Fans arriving at 9:30 p.m. for Saturday’s opening of the Fan Festival—a bleak expanse of concrete sandwiched between Doha’s imposing Interior Ministry Building and the sea—were confronted by a huge crowd that swelled outside a locked main gate, as predominantly Pakistani security guards wagged fingers at each other. Suddenly, a tiny slither in the barricade was flung open and the multitude lurched forward, steel barriers tumbling over. At least three women fell under the melee, this reporter saw, as insults and elbows were hurled from the crush.

After 20 minutes of inching forward as every arrival’s “Hayya” immigration card was painstakingly checked, the wheezing mob melted into the fan-zone, brushing off the danger and indignities as Lebanese singer Myriam Fares gyrated on stage before a phalanx of dancers in golden pantaloons. “Well, that was nuts,” said a Wales fan in a bucket hat while lining up for a Budweiser afterward. “I hope we don’t have to endure that every night just to get a pint.”

But far from teething problems, the situation at the Fan Festival has only deteriorated since. On Sunday, tens of thousands of fans pushed and shoved against police armed with batons and shields. “It’s very risky. People, they could die,” Hatem El-Berarri, an Iraqi who said he was working in neighboring Dubai, told the AP.

The dicey security situation is particularly concerning considering Qatar has sidestepped many traditional problems. Typically, at a World Cup, the twin security issues are policing inside stadiums and the tens of thousands of “soccer tourists,” who want to follow the team but don’t have tickets, and require fan zones and other areas to drink and socialize. But by virtue of being an expensive and ultimately unpopular destination, Qatar doesn’t have to deal with the latter. Instead, authorities appear hellbent on making unnecessary trouble, confiscating rainbow flags and hats from fans who dare to endorse equality and inclusion.

“I personally feel really let down by the authorities for basically excluding me from a World Cup, but then also telling the stories about it being ‘free from discrimination’ when I know our LGBTQ+ siblings in Qatar are suffering,” says Chris Paouros, a trans woman and chair of the Qatar Working Group for Kick It Out, an advocacy group combatting discrimination in soccer.

Read More: This Is the Reality of Life for LGBTQ+ People in Qatar

It’s not just LGBTQ+ fans who are staying away, though. For Europeans in particular, the entire point of a World Cup is for fans to celebrate their identity through soccer, by getting together, singing, and having a drink. “That simply isn’t going to happen, certainly not outside stadiums or in public,” says Pearson. “So it’s not very attractive for fans.”

It’s not been smooth sailing at stadiums either, with curious traffic diversions and official shuttle buses frequently getting lost. “It was a bit chaotic at the Argentina game,” says Dahdouh. “In short, we were thrown around a bit. There’s [security] people everywhere but no one knows anything.”

Maurich agrees. “It’s chaos,” he says. “The shuttles drop you much too far from the grounds and then everyone has to walk miles. We’ve resorted to getting Ubers.”

Doha may have world class museums and some of the most breathtaking contemporary architecture in the world. But despite FIFA’s protestations to the contrary, there’s little soccer culture to speak of among ordinary Qataris, as evidenced by how quickly the Al Bayt Stadium emptied after Ecuador scored in the host’s opening match. This is frankly an aberration across the region. (Iranian fans, by contrast, stayed to the bitter end of their 6-2 demolition by England.)

Ultimately, the most boisterous fans on display in Doha are migrant workers from South Asia and Africa, decked out in England, Germany, and (until Tuesday) Argentina shirts. Though with tickets costing in the ballpark of $200, the sad reality is very few will actually get to a game. “No, I’m too busy,” says Ghanian taxi driver Jonathan Apiah, when asked if he’ll get to watch the Black Stars play. He gestures to the picture of his wife and daughter back home on his smartphone background. “I have to work.”

After one of the biggest soccer upsets in history on Tuesday—which saw Saudi Arabia emerge as victorious underdogs in a game against World Cup favorite Argentina—an unlikely star emerged. It was not the kingdom’s star striker, Saleh Alshehri, who scored the team’s first goal; nor was it Salem Aldawsari, who put Saudi Arabia ahead of Argentina and ensured its ultimate 2-1 victory. Instead, it was the booming voice of Khalil al-Balushi—an Omani sports commentator working for Al-Kass Sports, a Qatari broadcaster—that stole the show.

When Aldawsari scored, al-Bulashi’s now-viral Arabic monologue invoked the language of an epic poem. According to a translation by an Arabic-speaking fan, al-Balushi roared “write this in history” and exclaimed “Allah, Allah, Allah” over and over again in deafening disbelief.
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Al-Balushi added: “Here at Lusail stadium! You are making history! What a moment. Insanity in its purest definition. I speak from the insides of my heart. With the emotions of my heart. A proud Arab. And with this 2nd goal, a beautiful goal, a majestic goal. YES… Impossible is not a word that exists in the Saudi and Arab dictionary.” He continued by describing Aldawsari’s goal a “thunderous” strike, before calling his first name, Salem, over and over again.

That kind of impassioned commentary is well-known in the Arab world but is rarely seen by a foreign audience. Some on social media said it made English-language commentary feel a little lackluster by comparison.

Arabs have a particularly close relationship with soccer—which is the most popular sport in the region, and features many national leagues. As such, it has colloquially been dubbed a second religion to many. The game is played socially among children and adults alike, with the increased participation of women leading to the first ever Arab Women’s Cup in 2021. This love of soccer has led a number of Arab commentators, including al-Bulashi, Jordan’s Kahled al-Ghoul, and Saudi Arabia’s Fahd Al-Otaib to become widely-known figures.

But Arab commentators are hardly alone in their palpable passion for soccer. Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking commentators are also widely regarded as soccer monomaniacs. Latin American commentators, like Arab ones, are especially known for screaming “goal” with gusto.

According to the New York Times, the phenomenon in South America dates back to 1946, 14 years after soccer was first broadcast live on Brazilian radio. São Paulo announcer Rebello Júnior ecstatically celebrated a goal by bellowing an elongated “gooool”—the Spanish and Portuguese word for goal—until he ran out of breath.

Andrés Cantor, an Argentine American sportscaster who covered the 2018 FIFA World Cup, has been dubbed “Mr. Goal” for his energetic outbursts. The commentator told the Washington Post he doesn’t tire of being recognized for the way he yells “goal” and for his narration style.

“Obviously it conveys a lot of passion,” Cantor said. “The way the ‘goal’ scream works has a lot to do with several factors but mainly the importance of the goal.”

Cantor added that the word must hold a prolonged “ooooo” sound but reminded people he did not invent the oral tradition—he merely popularized the Latin American expression of love for soccer.

Cantor isn’t wrong. When Argentina scored its second winning goal against Nigeria during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, an Argentinian commentator was reduced to tears during a live broadcast. Similarly, Egyptian captain Mohamed Salah scored a penalty against Congo that brought his nation to the 2018 World Cup, and made an Arabic-speaking commentator cry in the process. If the emotions of Arab and Latin American commentators remain as high this year, it’s safe to say the world is set to witness a World Cup that will continue to make headlines in unexpected ways.

This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

When Qatar, a tiny Gulf kingdom with a lot of money and one aging sports arena, won the bid to host the 2022 World Cup soccer championships in 2010, it had no choice but to embark on a massive construction campaign to build the stadiums, transport, and hotels required to host, move, and house more than 1.5 million fans and players. And it did so with considerable zeal. More than $220 of its petro-billions were funneled into world-class infrastructure projects that transformed the once-sleepy pearl fishing village of Doha into a dazzling demonstration of architectural excess in little more than a decade.
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It was a building boom in one of the hottest places on the planet, powered by hundreds of thousands of migrant workers laboring in grueling conditions that got hotter every year—Qatar’s daily high summer temperatures have increased by an average of 1.4°F since 2010. That trajectory is likely to continue. Because of climate change, the Middle East is one of the fastest warming places on the planet; by 2100, temperatures could rise to the point that just going outside for a few hours will exceed the “upper limit for survivability,” according to a 2020 study published in Science Advances.

But the World Cup is just one aspect of the gas-rich kingdom’s effort to diversify its economy by becoming a world class destination for business, sports, and leisure. Even as workers were putting the final touches on stadiums and hotels shortly before the opening ceremony, scaffolding was going up on hundreds more construction sites across the peninsula. But for how much longer can construction—a job constrained by the limits of human tolerance for heat—continue if temperatures keep rising?

Read More: Thousands of Migrant Workers Died in Qatar’s Extreme Heat. The World Cup Forced a Reckoning

Qatar’s Nov. 20 World Cup opening ceremony started just a few hours after the conclusion of the UN’s 27th global climate conference, known as COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. There, representatives from 196 member nations and the European Union barely managed to uphold the Paris COP15 goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels, beyond which scientists warn that the dangers—floods, droughts, wildfires, heatwaves, and ecosystem collapse—grow considerably. The world has already warmed by 1.2°C (2.16°F), and Climate Action Tracker, a research organization that calculates potential warming based on national emission reduction commitments, warns that we are currently on track to reach 2°C (3.6°F) by the end of the century, and that’s only if countries meet their 2030 targets. If they don’t, it will be more like 2.7°C (4.86°F).

Even the optimistic scenario means that by 2050, Gulf countries will likely see up to 250 dangerous heat days a year, according to an August study published in Communications Earth & Environment. “Dangerous” heat days are defined as exceeding a temperature and humidity index of 103°F (39.4°C). These extremes can easily lead to heat exhaustion for those without protection, and ongoing exposure to dangerous heat days can lead to chronic illnesses, say the authors. By 2100, the study predicts, “Extremely dangerous heat stress will be a regular feature of the climate” in not just the Gulf region, but parts of Africa and South Asia too. By “extremely dangerous,” the authors mean an index of 124°F (51.1°C), which can lead to heat stroke and death within a few hours. It’s hard to see how construction, at least as it is done now, can continue under those conditions.

Read More: What Extreme Heat Does to the Human Body

There are some technological fixes. Qatar has already invested an undisclosed but “significant” amount of money into the development of clothing that can keep workers cooler in extreme temperatures, according to James Russel, managing director for Europe, the Middle East, and Australasia of the UK-based cooling clothing company Techniche, which partnered with Qatar to create the gear. But those outfits, which have been distributed to World Cup stadium workers and street cleaners employed by the state, only provide comfort in high heat, and are not designed—yet—to enable workers to labor for longer hours or in higher temperatures. Night-time work is already part of the construction scene in the Gulf says Russel, but it will probably need to increase. So will the size of the construction workforce. “If we’re reducing the amount of work that people are doing by increasing the amount of people on sites,” he says, “then we’re mitigating the overall risk.”

A version of this story first appeared in the Climate is Everything newsletter. To sign up, click here.

In the long term, construction projects may have to evolve into prefabricated projects that can be assembled in air-conditioned warehouses and then stacked together outside with the help of heavy machinery. But machines break down, and outdoor workers will still be needed. Meanwhile, a lot more could be done to reduce the radiant heat that emanates from construction equipment and scaffolding, says Russel. “That’s not beyond our technologies. It just needs further development, and of course, more money.”

Money is not lacking, as Qatar’s World Cup building boom so clearly demonstrates. The only problem is that the money needed to adapt regional construction to a warming climate comes from the fossil fuels that are driving it.