Iran’s World Cup campaign is barely underway and it’s already a case study in what happens when international politics crashes headfirst into international football. Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t mince words after his team’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand on June 15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, calling out the chaos that forced his squad to pack up and leave the country almost immediately after the final whistle.
The team was told to depart the US right away, with no time for the kind of recovery that professional athletes typically need after a grueling 90-minute match.
A tournament defined by visa denials and relocated camps
The problems started well before kickoff. Iran’s original training camp was set up in Tucson, Arizona, a logical base for a team playing matches on American soil. But in late May 2026, the entire operation had to be uprooted and moved across the border to Tijuana, Mexico.
The reason: US visa denials. Eleven Iranian officials were refused entry into the United States for the World Cup matches, forcing the federation to scramble for alternatives south of the border.
