Josh Morrissey and Erick Molina-Garcia were in their seats at Ri Ra Irish Pub at noon – two hours before the start of the World Cup men’s soccer match between the United States and Iran.

The former Thomas College soccer teammates were in the same seats they had for two U.S. World Cup matches last week

“Ri Ra has a soccer culture,” said Morrissey, 24, of Scarborough. “For games like this, you want to be around people like that. That’s what we love.”

Tuesday afternoon, soccer fans across the country went out searching for the right atmosphere to watch Team USA’s must-win game against Iran. The U.S. rewarded them, holding on for a 1-0 victory and advancing to play the Netherlands at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Round of 16 in Doha, Qatar. A loss or tie on Tuesday would have ended the team’s World Cup after just three games.

At places like Ri Ra and other pubs in Portland, soccer fans soaked it all in, and as the game went on, pregame nerves gave way to postgame joy.

“I’m a huge U.S. soccer fan. I have been for a long time,” said Matt Gawel, 39, of Portland. A member of the Portland chapter of American Outlaws, a supporters group for Team USA, Gawel took the afternoon off from work at St. Joseph’s College, where he’s the director of student engagement, to watch Tuesday’s game.

“I’ve been waiting for this for eight years,” Gawel said, referring to the last time the U.S. team qualified for the World Cup. “I’ve been in knots, really.”

SOCCER HOTBED

Southern Maine is a soccer hotbed. Seven of the eight high school state soccer champions crowned this month are from schools within a 30-mile radius of Portland. The group USL to Portland is trying to bring a professional team to the city. Gabe Hoffman-Johnson, the founder of that effort and a former all-America at Falmouth High, pointed at the fans gathered at Old Port bars as proof that a pro team would work in the city.

Matt Gawel of Portland covers his face with a red, white and blue scarf while watching the televised World Cup match between the U.S. and Iran at Ri Ra Irish Pub in Portland on Tuesday. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

“This is why we’re trying to do what we’re doing,” Hoffman-Johnson said.

By game time, fans were four deep behind the main bar at Ri Ra, watching on either the projection screen set up behind the bar or on one of the large screen televisions throughout the room. In Ri Ra’s side room, two small TVs above the bar showed the game, along with the large screen on the back wall. Fans had just enough room to lift their drinks. Nobody cared.

For long stretches of the first half, the crowd at Ri Ra was quiet. Team USA’s early scoring chances drew plenty of “Oohs!” and “Aahs!” but cheers were muffled when the ball failed to find the back of the net.

That changed in the 38th minute when Christian Pulisic scored to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead.

Morrissey stood on his barstool, raised his arms in joy, and turned to the crowd gathered behind him to scream in unison. It was the first time in an hour he’d looked away from the TV for more than a second.

At Rising Tide Brewing Company, a small but engaged crowd of about 20 fans gathered. The group rode the wave of emotions during the game, collectively groaning when Timothy Weah’s header on goal was saved in the 28th minute and exhaling when Walker Zimmerman cleared a ball that got behind U.S. keeper Matt Turner in the final minutes to help ensure the outcome.

Andrea Blunt, left, of Norway, celebrates at Rising Tide Brewery with her son Matthew Blunt, of Los Angeles, and daughter Hillary Blunt of Kansas City, Mo., as they watch the U.S. men’s national team compete against Iran on Tuesday. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

The watch party was co-sponsored by the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center. Executive Director Reza Jalali said the center also organized a viewing party along with Rising Tide for the U.S.-Wales match last week, and worked with Downtown Portland and USL to Portland to set up the viewing party at Monument Square on Friday for the U.S.-England match that drew hundreds of fans.

“Soccer is like a religion in many countries,” Jalali said. “It brings people together. It brings people from different races, different religions, different nationalities. Regardless of where you come from, you can be a soccer fan.”

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

Jalali moved to the United States from Iran in 1985. He said animosity between the countries, which was at a boiling point during their 1998 World Cup showdown, has started to ease with time, even though he acknowledged diplomatic relations between the countries haven’t existed since 1979.

“Every year, Iranians become more and more fond of Americans,” he said. “Part of it is because, in the Middle East, my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”

A Middle Eastern immigrant in attendance was 31-year-old Talal Alzefiri, who made the drive from Biddeford, where he owns Layalina Middle Eastern Restaurant and Alhadidi Market. Alzefiri, a native of Kuwait who moved to Maine nine years ago, is a lifelong soccer fan who agreed with Jalali about the sport’s ability to bring people together.

Soccer fans celebrate at Andy’s Old Port Pub while watching the U.S. men’s national soccer team as it played Iran in its final group stage match on Tuesday. The U.S. won 1-0 to advance to the Round of 16 and will face the Netherlands on Saturday. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

“Soccer has been everything for us, to be honest with you, from all backgrounds and different countries. It’s something that we all understand,” he said. “It has been growing in Portland, Maine, it has been really amazing to see that.”

At Andy’s Old Port Pub, an enthusiastic crowd of couple dozen fans watched the second half unfold. Alex Ferland, 31, of Biddeford, and Jackson Dohse, 24, of Saco, said at a four-top and took in the game on the television above the bar.

In a high-tech world, the score updates on Andy’s front window were as low tech as it gets – photocopied numbers taped next to pictures of the flags of the four teams competing in the 2 p.m. games. Passersby in the street could glance at the window and see that the U.S. was ahead of Iran, 1-0, and England led Wales, 3-0.

“Everybody here is watching the game, so it’s a good atmosphere,” Ferland said. “I’m always nervous. I definitely think the U.S. is the better team, but …”

Dohse felt that because Team USA failed to even qualify for the World Cup in 2018, this team might make fans appreciate them more.

“Soccer isn’t really a huge sport in America, but here you see, the crowd came out,” Dohse said.

Stoppage time is the great mystery of World Cup soccer. The official says how much time is left, but even that feels fluid. Only he knows for sure. Team USA and Iran kept playing, nearly 10 minutes after the clock had surpassed the regulation time of 90 minutes. Fans leaned forward in their seats. Then, the players just stopped.

“Is that it?” Dohse asked.

‘USA! USA!’

It took a moment for fans at Andy’s to realize, that was. The U.S. had won. First came the applause, then the chant filled the bar.

“USA! USA!”

Over at Rising Tide, fans celebrated the anxious finish, with 70-year-old Hollis resident Larry Fisher repeatedly pumping his fist.

“It was pretty tense, right from the get-go,” he said. “I enjoy watching it with people. I’m glad it wasn’t super-packed, everyone had enough room to jump up and watch what’s going on without too much distraction.”

Fisher, who played soccer when he was at the University of Kentucky, feels soccer has gained a foothold in Maine that is only growing.

“I hope Portland gets a pro team, I really do,” he said. “I think it would be good for Portland. There’s enough interest.”

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