Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has strongly complained about the conditions his team are facing at the 2026 World Cup. He said Iran are the “most oppressed” team in the tournament because of what he described as difficult travel and organisational problems in the United States.
His comments came after Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand in their first Group G match on Tuesday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The match was played in a tense atmosphere in front of around 70,000 fans.
The build-up to the game was affected by political tensions between Iran and the United States. Iran’s preparations had already been disrupted by travel and camp arrangements that forced the team to stay in Mexico.
After the match, Ghalenoei spoke about what he said were repeated problems affecting the team’s recovery and planning.
“We’ve spent so much time commuting in the air,” he said. “They didn’t even give us time to recover after the game today. They said we had to leave immediately.”
“It’s very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that.”
He said the team had not been given a clear explanation for the travel plans and suggested decisions were being made without proper communication.
“We do not know why they are returning us. I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere, we were supposed to arrive two nights before the game and we were not permitted, we were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why, and they haven’t told us.”
Ghalenoei also spoke about other problems affecting the team’s World Cup setup, including the absence of some federation officials and support staff.
“Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.”
He added that important members of the delegation had been unable to attend, while some staff members had to take on extra duties because of missing personnel.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi also expressed his frustration. He called the situation a “disaster” and said the absence of key people had affected the team’s World Cup preparations.
He is also believed to have told the squad that he would try to help bring additional members of the Iranian delegation to the United States after they were reportedly denied visas.
Taremi also pointed to the absence of senior officials and support staff as a major problem.
“We don’t have our President, and no one from staff, also, which is so important for us. Our manager, for example, has come here doing the job of the media, and you know everything is like a disaster for us.”
Iran will now focus on their remaining Group G matches, while the problems away from the pitch continue to affect the team as the tournament goes on.
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