USA v Iran: Best memes and fan reaction as America triumphs

The US played Iran at the Qatar World Cup on Tuesday in a make or break tie - and triumphed in tense fashion.

They had to win to make it past the group stage, and managed it with a nail-biting 1-0 victory.

It was only the third time Iran and the United States have met on the pitch. The first, at the 1998 World Cup, saw Iran win 2-1. The second game, a friendly played in 2000, ended in a 1-1 draw.

Despite the deep rifts between the two nations, fans of both teams were seen posing for photos at one point before the match kicked off.

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And while there was huge US interest in the game back home, commentators and pundits at the stadium say it almost felt like a home game for Iran.

Iran's players threw everything at the US side, but after 9 action-packed minutes of extra time, and a denied penalty appeal, they fell and exited the tournament.

Amid reports that the Iranian team were threatened after not singing the anthem at the last match, GOP Senator Lindsay Graham said he admired their players even while rooting for the national side.

Pre-game, US fans and commentators led chants of 'It's Called Soccer!'

2-0 was trending before the game started, really confusing some fans

An early spurt of attacking finesse from the US had people cracking some politically charged jokes

Some of the patriotic memes were ... eye-opening

Viewers were impressed by a pretty slick back-handed ball bounce by US coach Gregg Berhalter

Even the pets couldn't resist tuning in to the game

When Christian Pulisic put the US in front, he put his body on the line to put the ball away, appearing to injure himself in the process

President Biden marked the occasion with by erecting a sign of support in the White House grounds

Even severe weather warnings took a back seat to the game in the US

Did Trump predict this?

Afterwards, the nation let out a collective exhale - and the term started trending.

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