Iran’s World Cup campaign is barely underway and it’s already a case study in what happens when international politics crashes headfirst into international football. Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t mince words after his team’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand on June 15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, calling out the chaos that forced his squad to pack up and leave the country almost immediately after the final whistle.

The team was told to depart the US right away, with no time for the kind of recovery that professional athletes typically need after a grueling 90-minute match.

A tournament defined by visa denials and relocated camps

The problems started well before kickoff. Iran’s original training camp was set up in Tucson, Arizona, a logical base for a team playing matches on American soil. But in late May 2026, the entire operation had to be uprooted and moved across the border to Tijuana, Mexico.

The reason: US visa denials. Eleven Iranian officials were refused entry into the United States for the World Cup matches, forcing the federation to scramble for alternatives south of the border.

The relocation to Tijuana meant Iran’s players and staff had to deal with cross-border logistics just to play their scheduled matches on US soil. Ghalenoei made clear that his team was told to leave “immediately” after the New Zealand match, a directive that left no room for the standard post-match protocols.

Captain Taremi calls the experience a “disaster”

Iran’s captain Mehdi Taremi was even more blunt than his coach. He characterized the entire World Cup experience as a “disaster,” a word that carries significant weight when it comes from the leader of a national team on the world’s biggest stage.

The 2-2 draw with New Zealand, viewed in isolation, was a competitive result. Iran twice came from behind to level the score. But Ghalenoei’s post-match comments made it clear that the result was almost secondary to the conditions surrounding it.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino apparently recognized the gravity of the situation. He visited the Iranian dressing room after the match to speak directly with the squad, an unusual step that signals the governing body is at least aware of the problem.