Iranian players and staff are based in Mexico and are forced to fly to the United States on World Cup match days amid the conflict between the country and the United States.
Amir Galenoei says Iran has been treated “very unfairly” (Image: Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei told FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “stand up” against the United States, while captain Mehdi Taremi described the World Cup as a “disaster”. The Iranians have faced challenges on and off the pitch throughout the tournament and a failure to get a result on Saturday could spell the end for them.
Friday’s 1-1 draw with Egypt meant Iran finished third in Group G and remains one of the top eight teams in third place in the tournament, but could still be eliminated. Galenoei’s side thought they had secured a place in the round of 32 until Shoja Khalilzadeh’s winning goal was ruled out for offside in stoppage time and Saeed Ezatollah’s header also hit the crossbar.
But their dissatisfaction goes beyond the results. Amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States, Iranian players and staff have been banned from staying in the United States and forced to be based in Tijuana, Mexico, even though all matches cross the border.
Galenoei acknowledges that Infantino has done his best to help them, but he wants FIFA and its president to do more. “I know Mr. Infantino has tried his best to minimize the problems as much as possible, but it was on the hosts’ side that it wasn’t very good for us,” Galenoei said in the post-match press conference.
Get the latest 2026 World Cup news in your inbox with our Make Football Great Again newsletter
“We urge FIFA to ensure that organizers no longer treat teams and players in the same way. We hope that Mr. Infantino will actually stand up to such behavior.”
Meanwhile, captain Taremi, who missed a penalty shortly after Ramin Rezeian scored the equalizer, criticized FIFA and mentioned 11 Iranian officials who have been denied entry to the United States. “From the beginning, this has been a disastrous World Cup,” the striker lamented.
“So, FIFA, they have to solve all the problems here, but unfortunately this was not solved from the beginning. Mr. Infantino came to our changing room (after the first game) and he said, “It’s only the beginning.”
“But the group stage ends tomorrow, we don’t have any logistics personnel here, we don’t have visas. How is that possible?”
Asked if he thought FIFA and the US wanted Iran to be knocked out, Taremi said: “We have to fight everything here. We don’t know what people want or what they know, but from our perspective, yes, I think they want it.”
Who will win the World Cup? Tell us your prediction in the comments section.
Mehdi Taremi suggested that FIFA and the US do not want Iran to progress (Image: Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Iran’s fate now hangs in the balance, but only one of three outcomes needs to go in Iran’s favor to advance to the knockout stages: a winner between Algeria and Austria, a win between Ghana and Croatia, and a draw or loss between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uzbekistan.
Galenoi attacked the United States again, paying tribute to the team that made it through the qualifiers and won 11 of 16 games in two stages. “I want to say to the players and the team that I’m proud of them. What these young people and players did should go down in history because the host country treated us very unfairly,” he added.
“If the host country had allowed us to arrive two weeks earlier, we would have been better prepared. It was a reasonable, reasonable request. We would have recovered and been in better shape physically and mentally. But they robbed us of that justice.
Gianni Infantino visited Iran’s dressing room after the opening game (Image: Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
“When we go into a game, physically and scientifically, our bodies are weakened, and suddenly getting on a plane actually slows down our recovery. This is the third time they’ve done something like this to us. We have to leave here for the airport and get back to Tijuana, which takes about three hours.”
“Their attitude towards us was really bad and I hope the world realizes that. They didn’t let us come two weeks and two days before every game. This really hurt us.”
“And there was also a war. Despite all these problems, we were able to perform well and the world is proud of the Iranian people and our team. I think that is our greatest achievement, despite all the obstacles and hurdles in front of us.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
Upgrade your World Cup TV setup with Sky Glass ‘designed for soccer’
From £4.50
sky
Get the deal here
Sky is marking the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 20% discount on its entire range of glass TVs. Until June 17, shoppers can upgrade to a Sky smart TV ‘designed for football’ from £4.50 a month when taken with a Sky TV and Netflix package.
