Iran’s national football team head coach Amir Ghalenoei made a striking claim during the 2026 FIFA World Cup: his squad is the “most oppressed team in World Cup history.” The statement came after Iran’s match against New Zealand, delivered directly to FIFA President Gianni Infantino during a locker room visit.
Ghalenoei’s comments were pointed. Speaking to Infantino in the locker room after the New Zealand match, he said: “From a humanitarian perspective, we were the most oppressed team in World Cup history. Because of the conditions they created, and this is a great injustice. We are here thanks to the efforts of the president.”
The “conditions” he referenced are not abstract. Iran’s team officials were denied US visas, which forced the entire squad to abandon plans for a base camp on American soil. Instead, they set up operations across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, a logistical headache that added travel complications to an already pressured tournament preparation.
The 2026 World Cup is jointly hosted by the US, Mexico, and Canada. For a team whose home country has no diplomatic relations with the United States, that hosting arrangement created predictable friction. The visa denials for team officials turned that friction into a full-blown operational crisis.
