Nov. 21, 2022 coverage of the World Cup

The starting 11 lineup who is playing in Iran’s first World Cup game against England did not sing the national anthem ahead of kickoff at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar on Monday. 

Outside the stadium, before the game, CNN witnessed a number of Iran supporters wearing protest t-shirts, with slogans such as "Free Iran" or "Rise with the women of Iran." 

Some were reluctant to speak, fearing that regime spotters were monitoring them in the crowd, but Iranian-born Sam Mohsen and Venus Vanaki, who now reside in California, told CNN that they hoped the players would send them a sign that they were in solidarity with the protesters, and that would begin with them not singing their anthem.

As the anthem played over the stadium loudspeakers, and the players remained tight lipped, a large contingent of Iranian supporters appeared to be jubilant, cheering throughout. 

Remember: As anti-government protests entered a third month back in their home country just on the other side of the Persian Gulf, speculation had been mounting about how the players would handle the situation. In recent weeks, many other athletes have spoken out in support of the demonstrators, and several sports teams had refrained from singing the anthem.

And it's turning into an England rout with Raheem Sterling finishing superbly from a Harry Kane cross to make it 3-0.

It's a second goal for England against Iran — this time from Arsenal's Bukayo Saka, who finishes off a half-volley off the roof of the net.

The score is now 2-0.

FIFA has confirmed that some fans are struggling to access their World Cup tickets.

“Some spectators are currently experiencing an issue with accessing their tickets via the FIFA ticketing app. FIFA is working on solving the issue. In the meantime, fans who are not able to access their mobile tickets should check the email accounts they used to register with the Ticket app for further instructions,” it said in a statement on Monday.

“In case fans cannot access their email accounts, the stadium’s Ticket Resolution Point will be able to support. We thank fans for their resolution as we work to fix the issue as soon as possible.”

England just scored their first World Cup goal. Teenage sensation Jude Bellingham delivered the goal for the team.

Protesting at the World Cup, on the biggest stage of all for football, carries potentially huge risks for the current players in the national team.

“The players are under a lot of pressure by the government. It affects their livelihood, their future, their earnings,” Omid Namazi – the Iranian national team’s assistant coach from 2011 to 2014 – told CNN Sport. Nonetheless, players will be free to protest at the World Cup so long as they do not break FIFA rules, their manager Carlos Queiroz has said.

What would the players be protesting?

Soccer, like everything else in Iran, has been affected by the widespread protests, chaos and violence convulsing the country and threatening the very nature of the regime that has been in power for more than 40 years.

It is amid this turmoil that the Iranian national team has traveled across the Persian Gulf to Qatar where it will face two of the country’s fiercest geopolitical rivals, England and the United States, in its group – the ‘Old Fox’ and the ‘Great Satan’ as they are referred to colloquially by some in Iran.

In the buildup to the World Cup in Qatar, there were calls for Iran to be thrown out of the tournament. As the team prepared to play England in its opening World Cup match, all eyes were focused on its players for more than soccer.

The protests, referred to by experts as the most significant since the establishment of clerical rule following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died after being detained by Iran’s morality police allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code.

What began as a clamor for women’s rights has morphed into a movement, still driven by women, demanding the end of a regime that “people no longer believe…is reformable,” Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour earlier this month. “They want a different social contract without the clergy claiming divine right.”

There has been some controversy around a head injury in the opening minutes of England’s clash with Iran.

Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was eventually substituted after spending eight minutes receiving treatment for a head injury.

The keeper collided with a teammate while punching away an England cross in the 8th minute. Beiranvand received medical attention before waving away Iran’s staff and attempting to play on. He appeared to be in state of confusion and pain but was desperate to continue on.

But after a couple minutes, he collapsed once again in distress and was eventually replaced by Hossein Hosseini.

Iran's players did not sing their national anthem before their opening game of the World Cup in Qatar against England on Monday.

Defender Ehsan Hajsafi became on Sunday the first member of Iran’s national team to speak out from the World Cup in Qatar in apparent support of anti-government protests at home, saying players should be the voice of those suffering.

The match between Iran and England has begun. Not a single Iranian player sang the national anthem.