"I've been on the road for 12 hours," she added. "I'm very happy that we, women, can participate and see our national team up close and cheer for it." The match -- which ended in a 1-1 draw -- came against the backdrop of months-long protests triggered by the September death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian Kurd, after her arrest for an alleged breach of Iran's dress code for women. Hundreds of people including dozens of security personnel have been killed, and thousands have been arrested in connection with what Iranian officials described as "riots" fomented by the United States and its allies.
