The 2026 World Cup was always going to be a fraught tournament for Iran. After all, they are expected to play world-class football in a nation that’s spent months bombing their country.
But, as per Iran’s captain Mehdi Taremi, midfielder Mohammad Mohebi, and head coach Amir Ghalenoei, the team is facing unique and frustrating hurdles when it comes to competing and have criticized both FIFA and the US government for making them (as per Ghalenoei) “the most oppressed” team at the tournament.
Iran’s unique position in this World Cup is clearly on FIFA’s radar, as after the New Zealand game, FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the Iran team in their dressing room and thanked them for playing, saying:
“You showed to your families, friends, to your people, to the world, that you’re in the World Cup, that you perform and you have two more games to go. In these two games, you will make again everyone in the world proud of what you do. Thank you for being here.”
Things came to a head after Monday’s match against New Zealand in Los Angeles, which ended in a hard-fought 2-2 draw. Ghalenoei alleges that immediately after the match, they were told they had to leave the city immediately and return to their training camp in Tijuana:
“After the game today they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately”. Whereas today it’s very important for us to have recovery. We’ve been asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana and we are really troubled by that. They are forcing us to go back early. They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.”
Tarema criticized logistics that saw their training base moved from Tuscon, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico due to what The Guardian dubs “immigration concerns”. 15 of the team’s support staff were reportedly denied US visas, with that number reduced to 11 after an appeal. Even then, when the team arrived in Los Angeles from Tijuana, they were reportedly delayed for five hours, apparently due to immigration issues entering the United States.
“We’re going to get fatigued”
As Mohebi explained:
“Yesterday we came, started the trip in the morning, and we arrive [in the] afternoon, and we directly go to train, and we get tired, you know? I think [it was] supposed to be, we come here two days before the game. This kind of deal, I think, is not fair … we’re going to get fatigued – hamstring, lower back, glutes …”
Ghalenoei went on to single out Mexico for praise, underlining that “the Mexican people, the Mexican government, especially the people in Tijuana, made us feel at home.” Iran will next play Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles.
Published: Jun 16, 2026 10:36 am