Iranian players honor alleged child victims of the war ahead of the World Cup warm-up match

Iranian players and officials posed on Tuesday with photos of children reportedly killed by US and Israeli airstrikes before the 2026 FIFA World Cup warm-up against Costa Rica.

There were no spectators in the stadium in Antalya, but FIFA president Gianni Infantino was present.

The Iranian players were accompanied by coach Amir Ghalenoei, Vice President of the Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Mohammad Nabi and staff members, who held the photos as they sang the national anthem. Iran won the match 5-0.

The players’ gesture came after they held small backpacks for another warm-up against Nigeria on Friday, honoring the victims of a deadly rocket attack on a primary school in southern Iran. The February 28 strike, believed to have been launched by the US, killed more than 165 people, most of them children

Neither the United States nor Israel have accepted responsibility for the attack, which has been widely criticized by the United Nations and human rights groups. See also: ad5jhsK. The US military is investigating and has said it would never attack civilians.

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Iran’s government and soccer officials have said they do not want to boycott the World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico in June, but the national team cannot go to the US because of the war started by the US and Israel.

The Islamic Republic team will play three group stage matches in the US. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico City has said the country asked FIFA to move those three matches to Mexico after US President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending, citing security concerns.

Infantino has tempered Iran’s attempts to move its matches, saying FIFA wants the tournament to «go ahead as planned.»

Published on March 31, 2026