Between them, Reza Mansoor and Mostafa Pourmand have attended 11 World Cups to cheer on their beloved Iran, and even a war between their team and host nation the United States is not going to stop them this time.In fact, these two self-declared "super fans" want nothing more than a showdown between the two teams -- on the pitch, of course.To make that happen, Iran has to do what it has never done before -- get out of the group stage of football's biggest competition."Iran has one of the easiest group that we've ever had during the World Cup," Mansoor told AFP, referring to competition from New Zealand, Egypt and Belgium."There is a really high chance that we're going to advance, best chance we've ever had."The men, who have lived in San Diego, California for the past 50 years, are so optimistic about their team's chances they have already bought several tickets for the knockout stage, ensuring they won't miss a potential clash between Iran and Team USA.
With the nations at deadly loggerheads in the Strait of Hormuz, where missiles and drones are flying again after a few weeks of relative peace, Mansoor thinks a football game might even change the military calculations."I think everyone will love it, and I think that match would actually bring out peace. It could change a lot of things," Mansoor said. - 'Memorable' -The 64-year-old is so committed to following the team that he has decamped across the Mexican border and is staying at the same Tijuana hotel as the players.The 2026 tournament will be Mansoor's sixth, having attended every edition for which Team Melli qualified, apart from 1978.One of his fondest memories remains Iran's first ever World Cup triumph: their 2-1 win over the United States in France in 1998.FIFA billed the match as a game of "fraternity," paving the way for a rapprochement between the two countries -- enemies since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. American and Iranian players exchanged flowers and posed together for a group photo before kickoff. "It's one of the best photos I think ever taken of the World Cup teams," said Mansoor.The encounter was even followed in 2000 by a friendly match between the two nations in Los Angeles — sometimes dubbed "Tehrangeles" because of its large Iranian-American population.
