{"id":1443,"date":"2026-06-07T20:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1443"},"modified":"2026-06-07T20:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T20:36:22","slug":"irans-soccer-team-arrives-in-mexico-for-training-ahead-of-the-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1443","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s soccer team arrives in Mexico for training ahead of the World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) \u2014 Iran defender Ehsan Hajsafi criticized soccer\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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The team\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, we\u2019re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we\u2019re delighted about that,\u201d Hajsafi said. \u201cThank God, the team\u2019s condition is very good.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some members of Iran\u2019s entourage are still without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle. Those include the Iranian Football Federation\u2019s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, several key members of our coaching staff, whose roles are very important within the team, were not granted visas,\u201d Hajsafi said. \u201cThat includes the team manager, the executive director and the media director, all of whom play very important roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom here, I would like to ask FIFA to address this issue so that, God willing, the situation can be resolved in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s airport.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

The bus stopped briefly at the entrance to the Tijuana airport, where around 20 or so Iran fans waved flags.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn\u2019t think it was \u201cappropriate\u201d and raising concerns over players\u2019 \u201clife and safety.\u201d A day later, Iran\u2019s national team pushed back, saying \u201cno one can exclude\u201d it from playing.<\/p>\n

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Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s sports minister said in March that it would \u201cnot be possible\u201d for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nIran\u2019s soccer team arrives in Mexico for training ahead of the World Cup - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1443\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran\u2019s soccer team arrives in Mexico for training ahead of the World Cup - 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