Iran’s national soccer team arrived in Tijuana early 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 team landed in the Mexican city, across the border from San Diego, shortly after 5 a.m. (12:00 GMT) after an overnight flight from Turkey, where they have been training for the past three weeks.
The Iranian federation negotiated at the last minute to move the team’s base camp from Arizona to Mexico, partly because of uncertainty over whether they would be granted visas to enter the US.
The US granted visas to all players on Friday, just 10 days before their first match, but several members of the support team were denied visas, including «key managerial and administrative members», the Iranian Football Federation said.
Iran is scheduled to play its first two Group G matches near Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before playing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Published on June 7, 2026
