the knockout stage, this human moment on the pitch between american antony robinson and iranian raman reysayn there are far greater stakes than just winning a soccer match. >> reporter: the iranian players bearing an untold burden. >> there is concern that there will be repercussions against the iranian players from the iranian government. before their first match, the iranian men's team did not sing their national anthem. and that was seen as a protest. solidarity with the women of iran and with those who are protesting for rights for women in their home country. and that's why we saw the u.s. team hugging those guys and consoling them and really caring very much for them. >> reporter: soccer and politics are inextricably linked, especially at this world cup, the first ever in the middle east. qatar's human rights record under intense scrutiny. >> the fact of the matter is, is that when you're talking the world cup or olympics or any global sports get-together, it's going to have to be something that's going to be clouded by politics and geopolitics of the nations that are going to participa