Iran Complains of Treatment After Opening 2-2 Draw at World Cup

Iran opened its 2026 World Cup campaign overnight Monday into Tuesday with an entertaining 2-2 draw against New Zealand, but the result was quickly overshadowed by anger inside the camp over how the team is being treated in the United States.

Forward Mehdi Taremi said the situation was "an disaster" and claimed the squad was being forced to leave Los Angeles immediately, even though it had expected a recovery session the next morning before traveling to Tijuana. "This is bad for us and bad for football because at the World Cup you always need to prepare for the next game," he said, adding that there is "a lot of pressure on us, and we have no support" and that FIFA should help more.

Taremi said FIFA president Gianni Infantino visited the locker room after the match and was only trying to help. According to reports, Infantino told Iran he would do "everything he can" to ensure members of the Iranian delegation who have not been granted U.S. entry permits can still attend the team's next two group-stage matches. When asked for a message to U.S. President Donald Trump, Taremi said, "We are here just to play football, my friend, we are tired of talking about the problems. If they help us, we will appreciate it very much."

Coach Amir Ghalenoei also condemned the situation, saying it was "very disturbing" and that he did not understand why the team was being told to return to Tijuana so soon. "They make decisions for us, I have no idea why and they are not saying," he said. "Iran is the team that is suffering the most repression in this World Cup." Iran has one point in Group G, level with every other team in the group, and next plays Belgium on Sunday before finishing the group stage against Egypt next Saturday.