Iranian players react during their national anthem before the Women’s Asian Cup soccer match between Iran and the Philippines in Robina, Australia, Sunday, March 8, 2026. (AP)
Gold Coast: Iran’s national team players sang the national anthem and saluted before crashing out of the Women’s Asian Cup with defeat in their last group match on Sunday in Australia.When Iran faced South Korea on Monday in its opening match, the players stood motionless, two days after the United States and Israel began war against the country.But on Thursday, in their second match, against hosts Australia, all the Iranian players saluted and sang the national anthem on the Gold Coast.
Exclusive: Aymeric Laporte reviews Athletic Bilbao’s match against Barcelona | Spanish League
Against the Philippines on Sunday, they sang and cheered again as rain fell on Queensland’s Gold Coast.They lost the match 2-0, ending their hopes of qualifying for the next round.No reason was given publicly for the players’ original stance on the national anthem before the game.
Coach Marzieh Jafari said her team had “huge anxiety” about their families as the conflict raged and that the players felt “completely disconnected” from their loved ones.Speaking to national broadcaster ABC ahead of Sunday’s match, Foreign Minister Penny Wong was asked about the prospect of the team returning home.“I want to say about the Iranian women’s team that it was really touching for Australians to see them in Australia,” she said.
Wong added that the sight of the Australian players exchanging shirts with their Iranian opponents was a “very touching moment.”“I talked about solidarity and the way sports can bring us together,” she said.“We know that this regime has brutally persecuted many Iranian women,” she added.Iran lost 3-0 to South Korea and 4-0 to Australia to occupy last place in Group A after conceding nine goals and not scoring any of them.