{"id":704565,"date":"2026-06-15T01:21:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T01:21:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/704565\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T01:21:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T01:21:09","slug":"irans-world-cup-experience-is-less-joyful-amid-war-with-host-us-team-captain-says-before-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/704565\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran’s World Cup experience is less joyful amid war with host US, team captain says before debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2013 Iran captain Mehdi Taremi says his team is having a challenging World Cup experience amid the multifold disruptions created by their nation’s war with the U.S., the tournament’s co-host.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Iranians arrived in the Los Angeles area on Sunday from their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, just over the U.S. border \u2014 about 140 miles (225 kilometers) from the stadium where they will open group-stage play against New Zealand on Monday night. Iran’s training camp was relocated from the U.S. after the war began, and the Iranian team has endured numerous distractions since then, including visa problems<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup,\u201d Taremi said through an interpreter. \u201cAt any tournament when there is tension, we won\u2019t have the same beautiful experience we always talk about with peace and joy. … I know it wasn\u2019t just us. I know several countries had visa problems and changes with training camps. Before we arrived, the feeling, the sensation people always have, how they look forward to the World Cup, I think this time maybe they haven\u2019t had the same feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and the initial missile strikes killed its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The war has slowed and resumed several times since then, with President Donald Trump even announcing a peace deal earlier Sunday \u2014 one that wasn’t addressed at the press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis kind of tension, it undermines that joy and it undermines the message of FIFA and our people, which is that football brings about peace,\u201d said Taremi, the 33-year-old Olympiacos striker who is playing in his third World Cup. \u201cI feel like this World Cup could have provided a better atmosphere than it has, but I hope in the future it will be better for all fans, whatever team they are supporting in the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran initially planned to train in Tucson, Arizona, before the war\u2019s outbreak, but quickly moved to Baja California. FIFA then rejected Iran\u2019s desire to play its group-stage World Cup matches outside the U.S., claiming logistics and contracts wouldn\u2019t allow it.<\/p>\n

Iran has been beset with logistical problems since then, including the denial of visas for certain members of its delegation. A team spokesperson said Sunday that two members of its media relations group were denied U.S. visas for the opening match. Iran and its traveling fans also have faced multiple issues with match tickets.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWithout any doubt, this will impact negatively the spirit of football,\u201d Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said. \u201cFootball is supposed to bring nations and cultures together. Whether we win, whether we lose, that\u2019s a personal feeling we have, but football as a game is about bringing about joy. These conditions, they have impacted our technical focus, but I have really tried to make sure that my players focus on strategy and techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Iranian team is limited to brief trips into the U.S. for its matches, flying in the day before the game and reportedly flying out immediately afterward. Iran plays in Inglewood, California, again next Sunday against Belgium, before completing the group stage in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.<\/p>\n

Without giving details, Taremi said Iran’s travel from Tijuana to SoFi Stadium took roughly five hours, including the very short flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course that impacts us,\u201d Ghalenoei said. \u201cI would like to thank the good people of Mexico, but we Iranians, we are accustomed to make opportunities out of hardship, and we don\u2019t think about anything other than bringing joy to people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Los Angeles area likely was picked to host two of Iran’s matches in part because it has the world’s largest Iranian population outside Iran. The so-called Tehrangeles area of the city is filled with the families of untold thousands who fled the country after the Islamic Revolution in the late 1970s.<\/p>\n

Taremi and Ghalenoei are aware that many U.S.-based Iranians will be cheering against them, given their feelings about the current government, but they aren’t bothered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe play for every Iranian, be it in the diaspora or in Iran,\u201d Taremi said. \u201cPeople have different opinions, but we are here to unite people and we will try to bring joy to all Iranians wherever they live. We do not get involved in politics. We are here to play football.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2013 Iran captain Mehdi Taremi says his team is having a challenging World Cup experience amid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":704566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[180119,304379,4,450,12,451,3,99,452,453,795,965],"class_list":["post-704565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-ali-khamenei","tag-amir-ghalenoei","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-sports","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-u-s-news","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=704565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/704566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}