Iran icon Mehdi Taremi has told FIFA to “help us more” and said Team Melli were made to leave Los Angeles and return to their training base in the Mexican city of Tijuana immediately after their 2-2 draw with New Zealand in their World Cup 2026 opener.
The first nation to play at a World Cup while at war with the tournament hosts, Iran’s strained build-up to the finals included their training camp being moved from Arizona to Tijuana despite all three of their group matches taking place in the US – a country the president of Iran’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, and other members of staff were not allowed to enter.
“We’re just tired of this situation,” said Taremi, who revealed that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had visited the team dressing room after the game.
“In the last two months, we have had a lot of problems. It’s so bad and it affects our team. We just want peace… joy, and these things.”
World Cup 2026: FIFA ‘have to help’ Iran
Iran are said to have been forced to arrive for the game in Los Angeles on Sunday, having been scheduled to have two days in hosts cities before each match.
“At the World Cup, you have to have good preparation for the next game,” said former Inter and Porto forward Taremi, who has 57 goals and more than 100 caps for his country, describing the disruption as a “disaster” that had caused “a lot of stress for the players, staff and everyone”.
“We don’t have that support and FIFA have to help us more than this.”
Taremi was unsure who had told Iran they would have to leave straight after the match and said there had been no communication between FIFA and the squad.
“For sure, he wants to try to help us,” the 33-year-old said of Infantino. “But it’s about other things too. We are tired of talking about the problems.”
Donald Trump: Iran World Cup team would ‘appreciate help’
When he was asked if he had words for US president Donald Trump, who gave the order for Operation Epic Fury against Iran in February, Taremi smiled and said his team were “here to play football”.
Trump is currently at the G7 summit of leaders in France, where the heads of Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will host a special session about Iran on Tuesday.
On Monday, Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron that a preliminary peace agreement was “all signed” by himself, vice president JD Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
“If they help us, we are much appreciative of that,” said Taremi. “And if no-one help us, it doesn’t matter.
“I’m a football player. I’m not a politician guy. We just stay back back-to-back behind each other, and we try our best to win the next two games.”
Iran vs New Zealand: World Cup match ‘turning point’
Iran head coach Ardeshir Ghalenoei called the match and atmosphere at the SoFi Stadium, where Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebbi equalised for his team and Taremi struck a post, a “turning point in the history of our country”.
“Many Iranians were here with different perspectives and beliefs,” said Ghalenoei. “But everyone, with one voice, cheered for their country’s national team from their hearts.
“In my opinion, this was the real victory of this match – that a crowd of about 70,000, most of whom were Iranian, cheered for Iran with all their heart. This can be a turning point in the history of our country.”
There were jeers and cheers when Iran’s anthem played before the match, according to ESPN, who described support for the team as “vociferous” and said flags from before and after the country’s revolution in 1979 were hoisted to celebrate the goals despite the symbols being banned by FIFA.
“We have been up in the air so much that we haven’t even been on the ground,” said Ghalenoei. “They didn’t give us the time to come two weeks earlier to adapt and acclimatise.
“Even tonight, immediately after the match, we were told we must leave here, despite the fact that tonight is the most critical time for our next match because we need to recover and get ready.
“Instead, we have to board a plane and return to Tijuana. This is an issue that is really causing us suffering. It’s very ridiculous. Our team’s planning is decided from somewhere else.
“We were supposed to come to Los Angeles two nights before this match, but they didn’t allow it. It was in our plans to stay here tonight, do our recovery and return tomorrow at noon. Again, they didn’t give us permission, and I don’t know the reason for that, either.
“The president of the federation is not here. The team manager is not here. The internal team manager is not here. The media manager is not here.
“For example, on the bench, when we wanted to make substitutions, we had a coach doing the team manager’s job.
“For part of the pre-match responsibilities, instead of the technical staff focusing on technical matters, it was managerial work.
“For this reason, we are the most unfairly treated team in the history of the World Cup.”
World Cup 2026: Iran thank Mexico
On their seventh appearance at the finals and fourth in a row, Taremi and Iran are enjoying themselves despite their predicament.
“We have just been enjoying football since we were six years old, seven years old, 10 years old,” explained Taremi.
“We just follow the football, and we are always looking for the football, which is so important for us – more than everything.
“When your team scores and celebrates, it’s a lot of joy. We want to bring this joy for our supporters too, and I hope we can do that in the next game.”
Five-time Iranian manager of the year Ghalenoei effusively thanked his players. “With these conditions and the environment they created for us, the players put in more energy than they were capable of,” he reflected.
“Even though they weren’t in good physical condition and our acclimatisation wasn’t 100% complete, we managed to play an acceptable match.
“The Mexican people, the Mexican government and, especially, the city of Tijuana and its people made us not feel homesick, and allowed us to feel at home.
“We didn’t have a feeling of being strangers. It deserves appreciation and gratitude that they gave us this energy.
“The way we were [otherwise] treated – whether in our late arrival before this match, or after this match – in my opinion, is making conditions harder for us every day.
“However, we are more determined to make a greater effort for our people with more energy and to play better matches.”
Iran World Cup fixtures, schedule
Here’s how Iran’s group stage schedule looks. Asterisk denotes match starting the following day in that territory.
| Date | Opponents | Venue | Start time (BST) | ET | PT |
| June 21 | Belgium | Los Angeles | 20:00 | 15:00 | 12:00 |
| June 26 | Egypt | Seattle | 04:00* | 23:00 | 20:00 |
