The Iranian national football team arrived in Mexico for the 2026 World Cup, and it was horrific what they had to endure immediately after disembarking.
Iran’s soccer team arrives in Mexico ahead of World Cup
Iran’s Ehsan Hajisafi, center, walks with a team official as he arrives with his teammates for the World Cup soccer tournament in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, June 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Iran defender Ehsan Hajsafi criticized soccer’s governing body after the team arrived in Mexico on Sunday with some members of their entourage still lacking U.S. visas, before three World Cup group matches in the United States later this month.
The team’s participation in the World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.
“First of all, we’re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we’re delighted about that,” Hajsafi said. “Thank God, the team’s condition is very good.
“With everything that happened, visas were eventually issued. Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff.”
Some members of Iran’s entourage are still without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle. Those include the Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi.
“Unfortunately, several key members of our coaching staff, whose roles are very important within the team, were not granted visas,” Hajsafi said. “That includes the team manager, the executive director and the media director, all of whom play very important roles.
“From here, I would like to ask FIFA to address this issue so that, God willing, the situation can be resolved in the coming days.”
Iran had been training in the Turkish city of Antalya. The team flew directly to Tijuana, Mexico, which is just south of San Diego, on a private jet from the Mediterranean city’s airport.
Hajsafi was the first player to exit the plane with markings for German charter airline USC, which arrived at about 5:05 a.m. He led the team, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, through a brief security check with Mexican officials and dogs before boarding a bus.
The bus stopped briefly at the entrance to the Tijuana airport, where around 20 or so Iran fans waved flags.
Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.
Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.
Iran’s sports minister said in March that it would “not be possible” for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic’s soccer federation said in May that it was moving ahead with a team. The federation had insisted that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran’s World Cup team arrive in Tijuana with US tensions high
Item 1 of 2 FIFA World Cup 2026 – Team Iran arrives at Tijuana for World Cup – Tijuana International Airport, Tijuana, Mexico – June 7, 2026 A police officer looks on ahead of the Iran team arrival REUTERS/Victor Medina
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TIJUANA, 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 5 am (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.
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As the team’s bus pulled away from Tijuana airport, it paused briefly so members of the federation could wave to about 20 fans holding Iranian flags. A cordon of military and police escorted the team from the airport to their hotel.
Soccer is virtually a religion in Iran, a national pastime beloved by people across the political spectrum. But for Iran’s team, the tournament has been marred by fraught politics at home, the war with the U.S., and tensions over whether they would actually be able to set foot on U.S. soil to play their games.
Even their presence in Tijuana is politically tinged. The Iranian federation negotiated at the last minute to move the team’s base camp from Arizona to Mexico, due to uncertainty over whether they would be granted visas and a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the U.S. should be kept to a minimum, Iran’s ambassador in Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, told Reuters.
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Iran’s coach Amir Ghalenoei told FIFA that the team ideally would have arrived in Tijuana last week in order to adapt to the time difference.
“Normally, in tournaments like this, humanitarian and ethical considerations should come before technical matters, and I believe those considerations were not extended to us,” he said after arriving at Tijuana airport.
Iranian defender Ehsan Hajsafi said the team has suffered “very difficult circumstances” since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February but that the players are in excellent physical condition and “fully ready” for the tournament.
Iran are scheduled to play their first two Group G games near Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, and then face Egypt in Seattle on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 if both teams come second in their groups.
PRESSURE ON PLAYERS
This is the first World Cup since its inception in 1930 in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with.
But the U.S. tensions are just one of several factors that have turned the World Cup into a political battleground for the Iranian team.
Widespread protests that erupted late last year, calling for an end to clerical rule, culminated in a sweeping crackdown that killed more than 2,000 people in the deadliest unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. The U.S. and Israel then attacked Iran on February 28, sparking a months-long war that continues.
Iran’s soccer team were under pressure from all sides, said Abbas Milani, director of Iranian studies at Stanford University.
“It has become a lose-lose for the players,” Milani said. “There are pressures on players not to play with the team, pressure to show comity with the people, and the athletes are just there to play soccer,” he said.
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During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Iran’s team were both cheered and jeered after refusing to sing the national anthem, which was viewed as an act of solidarity with anti-government protesters back home. Since then, the pressures on the team had only increased, Milani said.
VISA DRAMA
After weeks of uncertainty, the U.S. awarded visas to all the players on Friday, just 10 days before their first match.
But several members of the Iranian squad were not given visas, including “key managerial and administrative members,” according to Iran’s football federation, which accused the U.S. of breaching its host obligations and violating FIFA regulations.
Pasandideh, the Iranian ambassador, said 15 of the 70 members of the party who arrived in Tijuana on Sunday had not been given visas to enter the U.S.
FIFA did not respond to a request for comment about the dispute.
An official with the U.S. State Department told Reuters on Friday that the administration had issued “the visas necessary for Iran to compete in the World Cup, including for athletes and necessary support staff.” The official added: “We will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the U.S. under false pretenses.”
Tonatiuh Guillen, who ran Mexico’s national immigration agency between 2018 and 2019, said Mexico’s willingness to host the Iran squad is a message of “solidarity at a moment of emergency.”
