I remember they used to show the 1986 Brazil-France game a few times a year. The commentator would repeatedly say like "و اینجاست که فوتبال به بسکتبال تبدیل میشود"

My memory of the game when it happened was like this: One morning I was on Pasdaran Street on my way to Samar Institute waiting for a taxi. As various cars zoomed by a man approached and passed me. After he had gotten behind me, almost as an afterthought he called out to me and said, “Brazil got eliminated.” I wasn’t sure how he figured I was a Brazil supporter (but then again a large portion of Iran was) and it didn’t matter that he was a total stranger. I grilled him for more information.

“Yeah they’re out. They lost to France. Zico missed a penalty during the game. They ended up losing on penalty kicks.”

Once I got to school I shared the information with my fellow students although some of them had already heard the news. Ardi approached me with a suggestion.

“Now that Brazil is out I think we should probably route for Argentina.”

I wasn’t sure whether I was in denial or simply not familiar with the format of the World Cup. “It’s just one loss. They can still make up for it and win the whole thing.”