The coach and captain of the Iranian national team is outraged by the logistical chaos at the 2026 World Cup

The head coach of Iran's national team, Amir Galenoy, issued a sharp criticism of the organizational aspects of the 2026 World Cup, calling his national team the most repressed team in the entire tournament. The reason for the outrage was the demand to leave the United States and return to the base camp in Tijuana, Mexico immediately after the first match. Iran played their first, politically charged match of the tournament, drawing with New Zealand on Monday at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Galenoy began the press conference with complaints about the last-minute change of plans. A few weeks before the start of the tournament, the base camp of the Iranians is unexpected, despite the fact that the team has to play all three matches of the group stage directly in the United States. The initial protocol was to arrive in the US two days before the game and depart the day after. However, the team arrived in Los Angeles only on Sunday, and after the match they were forced to pack their bags. "We spent so much time in the air that we weren't even given time to recover. After today's game, we were told that we have to leave immediately. It's very important for us to have time to recover, but we were told to go back to our camp in Tijuana, and we're very worried about that. I think maybe our team is the most repressed team in the whole World Cup," Galenoy complained through a translator. The captain of the Iranian national team, Mehdi Taremi, supported his mentor, calling the situation around the team a disaster. He also reported that FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited the team's dressing room after the game. According to Taremi, conversations with Infantino are not enough: "Of course, he wants to try to help us, but it's also about other things, everyone knows that. I think FIFA should help us more," the attacker emphasized. An additional blow to the team was the ban on entry into the United States for the president of the Iran Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, and other key members of the support staff. Iran became the first team in history to take part in the World Cup on the territory of a country with which it is in a state of deep political enmity. The situation was complicated by the fact that the match was held near Los Angeles, the city with the largest Iranian diaspora, formed mainly of emigrants after the 1979 Islamic revolution. The atmosphere in the stands was tense: during the performance of Iran's official anthem, there was a disapproving roar. However, as soon as the starting whistle sounded, 70,108 spectators began to fervently support the football players. In the stands, pre-revolutionary flags with a lion and a sun were waved en masse, despite the fact that in the morning before the game, the court upheld FIFA's decision to officially ban them from stadiums. The authors of the chapters Ramin Rezayan and Mohammed Mohebbi thanked the fans, noting that the support of the diaspora created a great atmosphere. "There were many Iranians here, they profess different political views, different beliefs, but they all sincerely supported us, and I think this is a victory for all of us," Amir Galenoi emphasized. After the first round, the situation in the group is completely equal: all four teams played their matches in a draw and have the same number of points. On June 21, Iran will play against Belgium (Inglewood, Calif.). June 27: Against Mohamed Salah's Egypt team (Seattle, WA).