‘Stayed on the road for 40 hours, did not even get rest’, Iran’s coach angry at FIFA’s arrangements

After playing a goalless draw against Belgium in the FIFA World Cup 2026, Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoi has expressed his displeasure with the arrangements of the tournament and the conditions of his team. He said that the Iranian team is playing the World Cup in very difficult conditions and the players are constantly facing travel and other problems. According to him, the team is not even getting a chance to rest.

After the match against Belgium, Ghalenoi said that in the last six months his team has faced such challenges which are difficult to even imagine. He told that a few months ago his country was going through a war-like situation and the domestic football league also had to be closed. In such an environment, the team had to travel by road for about 40 hours to play matches in other countries.

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According to the Iranian coach, visa-related problems and constant travel severely affected the team’s preparations. He said that the players are constantly traveling and are not getting enough rest time. He believes that it is not easy for any team to give its best performance in such difficult circumstances.

The match against Egypt will be decisive

Iran’s next match is against Egypt, which is being considered as do or die for the team. Ghalenoui said that Egypt also has excellent players like Belgium and what his team needs most before this match is the recovery of the players. He claimed that there would hardly be any team in the world which has to undertake long journeys continuously in such a short period of time.

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The coach praised the players’ passion

Despite all these difficulties, the Iranian coach praised his team profusely. He said that his players are taking the field with all their heart and history will remember their sacrifice. He described the 0-0 draw against Belgium as a big achievement. Also praised was goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who made seven brilliant saves and won the Player of the Match award. Now all eyes are on the decisive match against Egypt, where Iran will aim to make it to the knockouts.