After years of controversy around its location, the 2022 World Cup is underway in Qatar.
There have been allegations of payoffs to FIFA members to earn the bid, criticism of Qatar's laws against women and LGBTQ individuals, the deaths of migrants used to build the sparkling new stadiums and even last-second controversy over beer sales. The tournament was also moved from its usual summer timeframe to the holiday season to avoid Qatar's intensely hot weather.
But on the field, the best players in the world -- such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar -- are ready to go. And the U.S. is back with a hungry, young team after failing to qualify for the last World Cup.
Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 29, 2022, 9:16 AM EST
Pandas predict a US win against Iran
Good news for the U.S. men's team – Qatar's psychic pandas Thuraya and Suhail have chosen the U.S. to beat Iran in today's must-win matchup.
The two pandas were gifted to Qatar from China to celebrate it as the host country of the World Cup. Every day, they are tasked with predicting which countries will win that day's matchups.
However, the pandas are not given the choice of a draw and they're not always correct.
The pandas also chose England over Wales, Senegal over Ecuador and Qatar over the Netherlands in today’s matches.
Nov 29, 2022, 8:54 AM EST
Blinken denies ‘geopolitical’ nature of World Cup
When Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the unrest in Iran and China as it related to the game between the U.S. and Iran at the World Cup later today, Blinken said “let's let the athletes do their thing,” expressing his belief that there are no geopolitical implications beyond a competitive game.
“I'm certainly confident in [the athletes'] abilities to do well on the field. And I don't think there are any particular geopolitical aspects to this, other than that,” he added.
Affirming the right to protest, Blinken closed his answer, saying “protests that we're seeing in China, protests that we're seeing for different reasons, in Iraq, in other places — our position is the same everywhere, which is that we support the right of people everywhere to peacefully protest to make known their views, their concerns and their frustrations.”
-ABC News’ Noah Minnie
Nov 28, 2022, 8:07 PM EST
Must-win match for USA highlights Tuesday schedule
The U.S.'s future in the World Cup will be decided Tuesday against Iran. After draws against Wales and England, the U.S. can only advance to the knockout stage with a win; anything else and they will be boarding a flight home.
Iran, ranked nine spots lower than USA in the FIFA rankings, defeated Wales and was blown out by England, so they are facing a similar situation as the U.S. -- though a draw could also result in them making it out of the group stage as well. Wales can only advance with an unlikely dominating performance against England.
The match has almost been eclipsed by controversy over the U.S. Soccer Federation posting a photo of the Iranian flag on Twitter without the Islamic symbol. The post was to show support for protesters in Iran, and has earned calls for FIFA to kick the USA out of the competition. That's unlikely, but Iran can handle it on the field by simply beating the USA. FiveThirtyEight's predictions give the U.S. a 38% chance of winning versus 31% for Iran (with a 31% chance of a draw).
This is only the third time the two countries have met. They faced off in another politically heated match in the 1998 World Cup when the U.S. government called Iran the "most active" sponsor of terrorism just weeks beforehand. Iran won that match, 2-1.
The other two games on Tuesday will be in Group A, including the final match for the home country. Unfortunately for local fans, Qatar has already been eliminated from contention for the knockout stages. Netherlands can advance with a win over Qatar (or a draw and some help), while the winner of Ecuador-Senegal will also advance. Ecuador would advance with a draw.
Tuesday's schedule of matches:
Ecuador vs. Senegal, 10 a.m., FS1
Netherlands vs. Qatar, 10 a.m., Fox
Iran vs. United States, 2 p.m., Fox
Wales vs. England, 2 p.m., FS1
Nov 28, 2022, 6:28 PM EST
White House won't comment on Iran flag flap
The White House declined to comment on the Iranian flag flap created by the U.S. Soccer Federation's removal of the Islamic emblem from a photo on the U.S. men's national team's Twitter account.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the White House would not have comment during a White House press briefing Monday afternoon.
"This isn't the kind of thing that you would -- that the White House would -- comment on," Kirby said at the briefing. "USA soccer is a private entity, and they make their own decisions about those kinds of things, and we wouldn't comment on that. We wish them all the best tomorrow."
Kirby also said he wasn't aware of any conversations or consultations involving anyone from the U.S. government about the U.S. Soccer Federation's decision to alter the flag.
The logo was later added back to the flag in the team's Twitter header. The federation had said it was done to support protesters in the country currently demonstrating against the totalitarian regime and its treatment of women.