At the FIFA World Cups, teams often use the biggest stage to deliver political and social messages to the world.
And the same happened at the 2022 Qatar World Cup as well.
German players covered their mouths for a team photo before their opening match against Japan in protest of FIFA's threat of sanctions against players who wore OneLove armbands. While Iran didn't sing the national anthem on the back of political turmoil in their country.
But FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development, Arsene Wenger feels that these political demonstrations are the reasons behind the early exit of these teams in Qatar.
In a media briefing, the former Arsenal boss said that the teams who played well in the opening game were those who have experience, as well as "the mindset to focus on the competition and not on political demonstrations."