Berhalter denies Gio Reyna conspiracy claims as USA-Iran match approaches

29-Nov-2022 07:30:20 | The Guardian

Americans must win final group game on Tuesday in Qatar
Questions have been raised about midfielder’s role

Any hopes that Gregg Berhalter’s United States team could stick to sports on the eve of their win-or-go-home game against Iran at the World Cup were dramatically swept aside on Monday when the thorny geopolitical underpinnings of the match exploded to the fore during a tense half-hour news conference.

But even as Berhalter parried a series of provocative questions from Iranian media invoking US immigration policy, inflation rates and school shootings, and the 23-year-old squad captain Tyler Adams was called upon to answer for America’s centuries-old legacy of inequality and racial discrimination, both men remained laser-focused on the task at hand.