The vibrations spread beyond the confines of a little pitch in Lyon, of course, but when the football was finished the sporting impact was to send the Americans home on a jet plane and to leave the Iranians with a slim chance of making the next round.

All that and the business of national honour. The Iranians, under immense pressure to at least avoid defeat in this ideology-stained game, emerged with a triumph as precious as any in that nation's 60-year footballing history. They crafted an intelligent counter-attacking game, played to their strengths, scored two fine goals and got what they deserved.

The Americans go home in some disarray with internal criticism of their coach Steve Sampson growing and with the team bleeding for the want of a decent striker.

To that end Sampson had surprisingly dropped the troublesome Eric Wynalda and started with Brian McBride, Joe Max Moore and Roy Wegerle pushing up. The Iranians had a far more settled look to them, however, and all their aces were in the forward lines.

It was a game which, if a little short on quality, provided enough excitement and tension to justify the endless hype and speculation which preceded it. Neither side could afford to draw and the sense of winner takes all added an additional drama to a big World Cup night.

The Iranians had the better of the first half and had apparently legitimate claims for a penalty brushed aside by the Swiss referee when Azizi was brought down by goalkeeper Kasey Keller as he swept through the American penalty area.

The moral weight of that injustice was diminished by a handful of near misses the Iranians endured at their own end. Claudio Reyna hit the post with a crashing shot and Tab Ramos drove another good chance into the goalkeeper's hands. The game might have broken either way for the first half hour and it took a flash of some genius to tip the balance. With five minutes of the half remaining Zarincheh whipped a spinning cross in. Hamid Esteli rose to provide a wonderfully looping header to the corner of the American net. Word reached the heavens instantly by means of the huge gutteral roar out of the stands.

The Iranians celebrated the half-time whistle soon after by smothering Esteli in hugs and kisses yet again. Their concentration was unbroken, however, and after the break they resumed seamlessly with Mehdi Mahdavikia shooting just wide after only a minute.

Indeed, if the Iranians are going to single out one of their players for special garlands then it will Mahdavikia who is elevated. The stocky midfielder burst through the American defences time after time and it was he who scored Iran's second goal 38 minutes into the second half.

The Iranians had endured a lengthy spell of American pressure when Khakpour made an intelligent defensive clearance into Mahdavikia's path. With defender David Regis chasing him futilely Mahdavikia bore down on Keller's goal and slipped a perfect, thoughtful shot into the far corner. Again the sky flinched before the noise.

The Americans had one last kick left in them, however. Brian McBride will claim the credit for an unpretty 86th minute goal which provided a straw of hope. McBride's firm header hit Saadavi and Khakpour on the Iranian line, the former making a fudged clearance which spun up and off Khakpour and over the line with Ernie Stewart barrelling in aggressively. It was a messy goal but salvation isn't about aesthetics and McBride crossed himself in the most overtly religious gesture of the night.

"We just managed to score the goals," said manager Jalal Talebi modestly afterwards of this the extraordinary highlight of his month-long international management career. Come what may he goes home to be crowned a hero.

Then, in the spirit of the times, he plans to travel to the USA where his two sons were raised and now live.