Team Iran did not exactly have the smoothest experience playing stateside begin its 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign.
Iran played New Zealand to a 2-2 draw to open the group stage at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium) in Inglewood, Calif. The Iranians “expected” to be able to spend the night in the area to maximize post-match recovery, but found out shortly after Monday’s final whistle that they were immediately being ushered back on a plane to their home base in Tijuana, Mexico.
Team Melli head coach Amir Ghalenoei let his frustrations be known after the game.
“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter, via Greg Beacham of the Associated Press.
“After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”
Ghalenoei added that his team has “no idea why” plans were changed on short notice and believed that “decision-making for us is being made elsewhere,” but did not clarify whom he believed was making such decisions. He then called Iran the “most oppressed [team] in the World Cup.”
Iran team captain Mehdi Taremi also spoke out about his squad facing much stricter security measures, turning the relatively short trip from Tijuana to Los Angeles into a five-hour endeavor. Team Iran was missing several key personnel who were denied visas to travel to the U.S.
Iran previously requested that FIFA permit it to play all its Group H matches outside the United States, amid months of geopolitical conflict between the two nations. The governing body of international football denied the request.
Team Melli plays two more group games in Inglewood against group favorites Egypt and Belgium.
