June 17, 2026
Managing one distraction at the World Cup is hard enough.
As Iran's 2-2 World Cup-opening draw against New Zealand showed, Team Melli have to handle two: the fallout from the armed conflict between Iran and the United States, and the adjacent division between Iranian-American fans who support or oppose the current Iranian government.
"Everything is like a disaster actually, for us," Iran and Olympiacos striker Mehdi Taremi admitted. "It's not the right thing. But we don't follow the excuse. We just looking forward. We (are) having hope for the next two games. We'll do our best for our people and bring the joy for our supporters."
The international conflict forced Iran to relocate its tournament base camp to Tijuana, Mexico, and make only short trips to the United States for three scheduled group matches.
