Iran's team sang the national anthem before Friday's World Cup match against Wales, having opted not to do so in their tournament opener in Qatar.

The Iranian players had stood impassively during their anthem before their 6-2 defeat to England on Monday in an apparent gesture of solidarity with anti-government protesters in the Islamic republic.

An AFP photographer at the stadium on Friday witnessed security staff confiscating a flag from a fan with the protest slogan "Woman, Life, Freedom".

Some Iranian fans were in tears during the singing of the anthem.

England head into their second match of the World Cup against the United States on Friday knowing victory would secure a place in the last 16, while the Netherlands could also qualify for the knockout phase.

Gareth Southgate's men kicked off their campaign with a 6-2 rout of Iran who take on Wales in Friday's first Group B game.

Regardless of the result of that match, England would progress by beating the Americans, but will have to overcome a talented young side and the weight of history.

The head of the Asian Football Confederation on Thursday brushed off criticism over World Cup host Qatar's human rights record, instead lavishing praise on the Gulf country's organisation of the tournament.

Qatar has come under increasing scrutiny over its rights record, particularly its treatment of migrant labourers, women and the LGBTQ community, since winning the bid to host football's top tournament.

Iran on Thursday arrested a former international football player of Kurdish origin who has strongly supported the protests that have rocked the country since September, news agencies said.

Voria Ghafouri, an outspoken figure who appeared 28 times for Iran up until 2019, was arrested after a club training session over accusations that he spread "propaganda" against the Islamic republic, the Fars news agency reported.

Iran forward Mehdi Taremi on Thursday denied his team had come "under pressure" from their government after opting not to sing the national anthem before their first World Cup match.

The Iranians had stood impassively during their anthem before their 6-2 defeat to England on Monday in an apparent gesture of solidarity with anti-government protesters in the Islamic republic.

Iran on Thursday arrested a former international football player of Kurdish origin who has strongly supported the protests that have rocked the country since September, news agencies said.

Voria Ghafouri, an outspoken figure who appeared 28 times for Iran up until 2019, was arrested after a club training session over accusations that he spread "propaganda" against the Islamic republic, the Fars news agency reported.

An Algerian court Thursday sentenced 49 people to death over the lynching of a man falsely accused of starting deadly forest fires during an extended heatwave last year, state media reported.

The North African country has, however, maintained a moratorium on carrying out death sentences since the last executions in 1993.

Onlookers had beaten 38-year-old Djamel Ben Ismail to death after he turned himself in at a police station in the Tizi Ouzou region.

Syria's Kurds, bracing for a Turkish land offensive against their autonomous northern region, face an additional threat: being squeezed by warming ties between their foe Ankara and the Assad regime.

The Kurds -- an ethnic minority who live in mountainous regions across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran -- have long fought for their own homeland, and Turkey brands their separatist groups "terrorists".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed Kurdish armed groups for a deadly bomb attack in Istanbul this month, an accusation they have strongly rejected.

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Other social media platforms may have more users, but the network now owned by the billionaire Elon Musk dominates the global conversation -- even as Twitter's future is being called into doubt.

An Algerian court on Thursday sentenced 49 people to death over the lynching of a man falsely accused of starting deadly forest fires in August last year, state media reported.

The North African country has, however, maintained a moratorium on carrying out death sentences since the last executions in 1993.

Onlookers had beaten 38-year-old Djamel Ben Ismail to death after he turned himself in at a police station in the Tizi Ouzou region.

He had gone there upon hearing that he was suspected of arson, at the height of blazes which killed at least 90 people nationwide.