Politics and World Cup Dreams: Iran, North Korea, Netherlands
The FIFA World Cup sells itself as football’s purest stage – a month where the game rises above everything else. History keeps reminding us that it never quite works like that. Borders, regimes, and protests have all crept into the tunnel, sometimes threatening to stop teams from even walking out onto the pitch.
Three stories, three eras, one common thread: countries that came close to not playing at all – not because they failed on the field, but because the world around them was on fire.
Iran 2022: A World Cup Under a Shadow
In the build-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Iran’s place at the tournament felt less like a sporting question and more like a geopolitical flashpoint.
At home, widespread protests and human rights concerns dominated headlines. Abroad, the pressure grew. Campaigns called for Iran to be expelled or to withdraw from the competition entirely. The debate spilled beyond football circles and into parliaments, rights groups, and global media.
For weeks, the uncertainty hung over the national team. Fixtures were scheduled, preparations continued, but the noise around them refused to die down. The World Cup stage, normally the pinnacle of a player’s career, became a backdrop to a much bigger argument.
In the end, Iran did go to Qatar. The team lined up, sang – or in some cases did not sing – the anthem, and played its part in the tournament. The political storm did not keep them away, but it made their very presence one of the most scrutinized storylines of 2022.
North Korea 1966: Isolated, Yet Unforgettable
Roll back to 1966 and the World Cup in England. North Korea’s involvement almost never happened.
The country’s participation was tangled in political tensions and questions over international recognition. Diplomatic disputes loomed over something as simple as a football fixture list. There were serious doubts as to whether North Korea would be allowed, or even able, to take its place among the finalists.
Eventually, the hurdles were cleared. North Korea arrived, largely unknown, widely underestimated. What followed has long since passed into World Cup folklore.
The team not only played; it shocked the tournament. North Korea reached the quarter-finals, stunning established powers and forcing the football world to look beyond its usual centres of gravity. A campaign that nearly died in meeting rooms became one of the great underdog tales in World Cup history.
Netherlands 1978: Principles vs. the Pull of a Final
Two decades later, another crisis of conscience gripped a very different football nation.
In the run-up to the 1978 FIFA World Cup, the Netherlands wrestled with a stark question: should it travel to Argentina, then under a military regime, or stay away on moral grounds?
The Dutch were not just any team. They were standard-bearers of “Total Football,” finalists in 1974, and one of the most admired sides on the planet. A boycott from such a football power would have sent a thunderous message.
Debates in the Netherlands grew intense. Politicians, players, and public voices weighed in. Was it right to take part in a showpiece tournament hosted by a regime under heavy scrutiny? Could football justify turning up and playing on as if nothing else existed?
When the arguments finally settled, the Dutch did go. Once there, they did what Dutch teams of that era did best: they reached the final. On the field, they confirmed their status as one of the great sides of their time. Off it, the questions about that World Cup’s backdrop have never really gone away.
The World Cup likes to pretend it lives in its own world, sealed off from the mess outside. Iran in 2022, North Korea in 1966, and the Netherlands in 1978 are reminders that it never truly does. Sometimes, the hardest battle is simply getting to the pitch.
