See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy JACK BEZANTS, US DEPUTY SPORTS EDITOR Published: 17:19 BST, 13 June 2026 | Updated: 18:05 BST, 13 June 2026
A rotting body has been found in a car parked near Iran's World Cup training base in Mexico.Police in Tijuana made the horrifying discovery on Friday after reports of a nasty smell coming from the car, parked at a supermarket across from the Iran team's camp.The body was wrapped in a black bag and the car, a gray Toyota SUV with a California license had been abandoned. The vehicle had been left in blazing sunshine that has been beating down on the city over the last few days.It was parked meters away from the Caliente Stadium, where Iran is preparing for the team's first World Cup game on Monday against New Zealand. The team were holding practice at the venue while the body was removed.'Upon inspecting the vehicle, they found a person wrapped in a black bag in the trunk, showing signs of violence,' a statement from Mexican authorities said. Specialists in white protective suits worked around the vehicle to examine the corpse before removing it. A dead body was found in a car near to Iran's World Cup training base in Tijuana, Mexico Authorities said that the body was found wrapped in a black bag in the abandoned vehicle Specialists in white protective suits approached the car meters from Iran's training baseTijuana, which sits on the border with the United States, is notoriously dangerous, with more than 1,200 homicides recorded there in 2025, according to official statistics.The discovery comes amid the World Cup getting underway on Thursday in Mexico City, while there has been extra scrutiny surrounding the Iran team due to the war with the United States. They have moved between venues in Mexico with heavy security - armed soliders have been at the stadium during their practice sessions. Iran has been told it by the US that the team can only fly into the country on the day of their games in California and have also been ordered to leave on the same day. They had initially planned to be based in Arizona but the hostilities with the United States meant they moved to fellow co-host Mexico. Their first two games, against New Zealand and Belgium, are held in Los Angeles before rounding out the group by facing Egypt in Seattle.Teams typically arrive in the city their games are staged the day before. It's a flight of around 45 minutes to an hour for the Iran team to get to LA.The US also refused to issue visas to some of Iran's support staff for the tournament after an administration official said: 'We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.' Authorities in Mexico said there were signs of violence when they found the body in a bag The horrifying discovery was made while the Iran team were in practice for their first gameIran's Football Federation - whose chief Mehdi Taj was reportedly among those denied a visa - has described the decision as 'political interference in sport in its worst form.' In April, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with the Iranian players but 'some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them,' suggesting some had ties to the Revolutionary Guards, a group on the US terror blacklist.Taj himself is a former Guards member, Iranian media has reported.
