Iran's Head Coach Told US Will Ease Travel Restrictions for 3rd World Cup Match

2026 World Cup Key News

(Taipei, June 21, 2026, CNA) World Cup Iran national team head coach Amir Ghalenoei said today that he has been informed the United States will ease travel restrictions for the team's third match. However, he criticized the team's treatment at a press conference, believing their previous performance was affected by it.

According to AFP, when Iran arrived in the World Cup host country, the nation was still in a state of conflict with the United States, one of the hosts. Their training and accommodation were located in Mexico, but all three group matches were held in the United States.

Due to the match locations, the Iranian team needed to travel across borders frequently, but US authorities only allowed them to stay for a few hours after each match, and these measures often changed at the last minute.

After playing Belgium in Los Angeles tomorrow, Iran will travel to Seattle on the 26th to face Egypt, which will be their final group stage match.

Ghalenoei said today that he was told the team's itinerary would be more flexible for the final match. But he immediately added that it would be "fair" if the team could enjoy the same treatment in the first two matches.

Ghalenoei stated at the press conference, "They said in Seattle, you can do whatever you want, you can act in your own way, and you can arrive early," but he did not specify the source of the information.

Ghalenoei questioned, "But what I want, my question is, why didn't they let us arrive early for the first two matches?" "I know for the last match, yes, they allowed us to decide our own itinerary."

"But unfortunately, the itinerary and schedule for the first two matches were arranged by others."

Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand, the lowest-ranked team in this tournament, last week. Iran's defense made two mistakes, allowing the opponent to take the lead, but they subsequently equalized.

"We made some mistakes, including individual errors and defensive errors. I think we had too many passes."

Ghalenoei said, "And I think, due to the long flight times and long commute times, we were all tired."

Ghalenoei also pointed out that their travel restrictions were even stricter for tomorrow's match against Belgium, the highest-ranked team in their group.

Although FIFA had informed them earlier yesterday afternoon that they could depart, his team did not fly to the United States until today, less than 24 hours before the match began.

Ghalenoei complained, "We waited until 7 PM, and nothing happened," believing that Iran only completed half of their usual pre-match training.

In Group G, where Iran is placed, all four teams currently have 1 point. Only the top two teams in the group will secure a spot in the round of 32. Most third-place teams in other groups will also advance, with the specific results depending on each team's actual performance. (Compiled by Qu Xiangping) 1150621

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