By Emily GreenTIJUANA, June 7 (Reuters) - Iran’s national soccer team arrived in Tijuana early on Sunday ahead of three World Cup matches in the United States, amid tensions that have turned the world’s biggest sporting event into a soft-power contest between the warring countries.The squad touched down shortly after five a.m. (1200 GMT) in the Mexican city, across the border from San Diego, after an overnight flight from Turkey where they have been training for the past three weeks.

The journey of Iran’s World Cup team sets a dangerous precedent for international soccer.

Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, on Mexico’s border with California.