World Cup 2026: Iran unlucky losers after missing out on last 32

Considering the unique obstacles they have had to overcome, Iran appears to be as close to remarkable progress internally as possible.

Iran is competing in the World Cup amid the country’s conflicts with the United States and Israel.

World Cup training centers were shifted from Arizona to Tijuana in Mexico before the tournament started, and they face travel restrictions throughout the tournament.

Iran was only allowed to enter the United States the day before their first two games and had to leave again the same day as the game under visa requirements.

Afterwards, Ghalenoei described his team as the “most pressured” team of the tournament.

He said the team’s preparation time was “stolen” and given “less than half” of the training time needed, while other teams benefited from normal conditions.

For the game in Seattle, these travel restrictions were eased and they were allowed to arrive two days early, but had to return to Tijuana after the game.

After the match, Ghalenoei expressed his disappointment once again: “I want to tell my players and my team that I am proud of them.

“The actions of these young people, these players, need to be recorded in history because the host country treated us very unfairly.

“Despite all these problems, we managed to perform well and the world is proud of the Iranians and our team.

“I appeal to FIFA: do not allow hosts to treat players and teams in the same way at future World Cups.”