TEHRAN - The end of World War II in 1945 left Germany a wrecked country. Needless to say, Germany at that time was a defeated nation with many losses and no morale.

The World Cup was not held during the six years that the World War was going on. The first World Cup after World War II was held in Brazil in 1950, in which Germany did not participate, that is, it could not make it to participate.

But the next edition of the World Cup in Switzerland in 1954 - the second World Cup after the war, became an important factor for Germany to recover national identity, national pride, and national solidarity.

They got off to a bad start in the 1954 World Cup, losing 8-3 to Hungary, the top power at the time, in the qualifiers.

But Germany pulled themselves together and went to the finals, where they faced Hungary, but this time they defeated Hungary 3-2 and won the World Cup, a decade after the end of World War II.

Extensive research has been done on the effect of the German national football team's championship in the 1954 World Cup on the reconstruction of the country in various fields.

These researches all refer to the fact that the championship was very effective to the extent that Germany would never have been able to find itself and rise again so quickly without the championship.

That was a turning point in the world because people understood that football is a phenomenon beyond a game and a sport. It can leave very important impacts in different countries.

The sweet triumph of the Iranian national team against Wales on Friday, after the bitter heavy loss in the first game against England, is of the same essence. The victory filled the country with happiness and honor, flowing tears of joy from the eyes of millions of Iranians.

In the days when Iranian society is under the most intense psychological pressure and media bombardment - to the extent that Iran's enemies do not even want to see respecting the country's flag and singing the national anthem - people in Tehran and many cities of the country poured into the streets after the victory, waving the national flag and distributing sweets.

The Friday victory and its social impact showed that regardless of their opinions and tastes, the hearts of Iranians beat with each other and for each other in critical moments.

Although the valuable victory was largely indebted to the beautiful, harmonious, brave, and intelligent play of the players of the Iranian national team, the influence of the element of "unity and empathy" in this victory should not be neglected in any way.

The unity that existed between the players on the field and on the bench and among the fans made all follow the same goal and that was nothing but victory.

This unity and empathy in other national arenas can also cause success and bring victory.
 

MG