Despite being one of Asia’s most successful teams, Iran’s World Cup preparations were heavily disrupted by geopolitical tensions with the U.S. and Israel that escalated in late February. Although all three of their group-stage matches are scheduled to be played in the U.S., the team were forced to relocate their training base to Tijuana, Mexico, abandoning their original plan to train in Tucson, Arizona.
The team’s travel logistics have also been a source of frustration. Iran originally planned to fly into the U.S. two days before each match and leave the day after. Instead, they were only permitted to travel to California on June 14, just one day before the New Zealand game.
Furthermore, rather than staying in Los Angeles overnight as planned, the team were required to return to Tijuana that same night immediately following the final whistle.
“They did not even give us enough time to recover,” Ghalenoei said, as quoted by Morocco World News. “After the match, we were told that we had to leave immediately, even though recovery is very important for the players.”
Coach Amir Ghalenoei reacts during Iran’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand in the opening match of Group G at the World Cup in Inglewood, California, USA, on June 15, 2026. Photo by Reuters |
“We do not know why they are returning us,” Ghalenoei said after the game at SoFi Stadium in California on Monday, as quoted by Sky Sports. “I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere. Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.”
The 62-year-old coach also highlighted severe staffing shortages caused by visa restrictions.
“The federation is absent here. Our media isn’t here. Our management team, many of them aren’t here,” Ghalenoei added. “We used to have a part of a coaching team to help with substitutions but we didn’t have that. Many in the technical area had to deal with that.”
 |
Iran players celebrate after scoring in the 2026 World Cup group stage match against New Zealand. Photo by AP |
While FIFA has not publicly commented on the coach’s statements, Iran captain Mehdi Taremi had a similar view as his head coach.
“We don’t have our president, and no one from staff, which is so important for us. Our manager, for example, has come here doing the job of the media, and you know everything is like a disaster for us,” he told Sky Sports.
Taremi also said that FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the dressing room of Iran after the match to offer encouragement.
In a video posted on X, Infantino told the players that they are “stronger than anything” and that the whole world is watching their journey.
According to Taremi, the FIFA chief pledged his support to help secure visas for the remaining members of the Iran delegation so they can travel to the U.S. for the rest of the group stage.
Despite the chaos and frustration, Iran fought back resiliently to secure a 2-2 draw against New Zealand after falling behind twice. Ghalenoei’s squad will return to SoFi Stadium on June 21 to face Belgium in their second Group G fixture.
Comments are closed.