For Iran, the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been about much more than football. When the team landed in Mexico earlier in June, every player wore a “168” pin. That gesture carried a message that reached far beyond the pitch. It caught the world’s attention and left USA soccer legend Megan Rapinoe, who was left in full admiration for Mehdi Taremi and his teammates’ decision to use one of football’s biggest stages to make a statement beyond the game.

On a recent episode of A Touch More: The Beautiful Game, Rapinoe said, “To me, to be honest, they’re following in the footsteps of the Iranian women’s national team, who recently this year used their platform.”

Rapinoe was referring to two separate moments. In March 2026, Iran’s women’s national team refused to sing the national anthem before an AFC Women’s Asian Cup match in Australia. Three months later, the men’s team made its own symbolic statement by wearing the “168” pins upon arriving for the FIFA World Cup.

Next, Rapinoe added, “I have a lot of respect for these players using this moment, one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sporting moments of their life. I’m sure it’s something they’ve dreamed about since they were little. They’re using this to center something on a global stage that they really care about. And I think the centering and the call for peace to end this war on the home soil of the country that they’re at war with has shown hostility to the team while they’ve been here, I think, is really brave. I find that to be inspiring and brave, and particularly in men’s football, which doesn’t have a lot of this ever, I think it’s really amazing that they’re using that.”

That last point formed the heart of Rapinoe’s praise. In her view, men’s football has historically seen far fewer players use major tournaments as platforms for social or political messaging than the women’s game. She believes Iran’s players broke from that norm by choosing to spotlight an issue they cared about during the sport’s biggest event.

Now, citing another example of solidarity, Rapinoe praised French soccer legend Thierry Henry for reportedly highlighting the historical context surrounding Ghana’s match against England during the World Cup broadcast. She was especially struck that the comments aired on Fox, which she said is not typically associated with conversations of that nature. Therefore, she saw it as an unusually candid moment on one of football’s biggest stages.

Rapinoe’s admiration for Iran’s men’s team also echoed comments she had made months earlier about the country’s women’s national team. In March, Iran’s women’s team refused to sing the national anthem before an AFC Women’s Asian Cup match in Australia. The Iranian broadcasters criticized them for the move. Meanwhile, popular English broadcaster Piers Morgan took a dig at Megan Rapinoe by calling her “hypocritical” for not speaking up. However, Rapinoe soon praised the Iranian women’s team for their bravery and courage.

The former soccer star said, “I’m just thinking about this in the context of, like, the immense pressure that these young adults and these young women are under to make a decision like this. Like, the incredible courage and bravery it would take knowing what that could potentially mean for their family back home.”

Rapinoe added, “The bravery and courage to protest the national anthem, basically in protest of the Iranian regime, and not singing the national anthem during a match. The stress and uncertainty they’re facing – their family, their loved ones.”

Although the men’s and women’s teams expressed themselves in different ways and at different tournaments, Rapinoe viewed both as examples of athletes using football’s global stage to speak on issues they believed extended beyond the sport. That, more than the results on the pitch, was what she found worthy of admiration.