Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand, in group G of the 2026 World Cup, which took place in the early hours of Tuesday, June 16, at the SoFi Stadium, in Inglewood, California.
It was a real adventure for the Iranians to undertake this first incursion into the United States, following the war between the two countries. The Middle East team, which was forced to set up headquarters in Mexico, was allowed to enter North American soil just for the game.
The match even started better for the New Zealanders who opened the scoring in the seventh minute through Elijah Just. Even so, Iran reacted and equalized at 32 through Ramin Rezaeian, a result that reached half-time. In the second half, the scenario was repeated, with New Zealand scoring again through Just (54′) and Mohammad Mohebbi equalizing in the 64th minute.
After the match, Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei revealed that he had to leave the United States even earlier than planned, which hampered the players’ recovery.
“They didn’t give us time to recover. After the game they told us ‘you have to leave immediately’. It’s very important for us to have time to recover, but they asked us to get back on the plane and return to Tijuana. We are very disturbed by all this”, he said, adding that “Iran is the most oppressed team in this World Cup”.
“I honestly don’t know why they are forcing us to return so quickly. I think this is all very strange, it seems that other people are planning things for us, that decisions are being made elsewhere… We were supposed to come two nights before the game, sleep here and only return tomorrow (this Tuesday)around lunch time. I have no idea what happened”, lamented Amir Ghalenoei.
The selector revealed that many players had cramps during the meeting with New Zealand, something he says was due to the bureaucratic obstacles placed on the team. “We didn’t make the substitutions for technical reasons. The fact that they delayed our arrival and forced us to leave early, with no time to recover, makes everything much more difficult”, he highlighted.
The journey back to Mexico was anything but easy for the Iranians due to the lengthy and complicated border controls for some footballers, namely captain Mehdi Taremi (former Rio Ave and FC Porto player) and Saeed Al-Hawie, who delayed the journey even further.
Precisely, Taremi revealed that the Iranian team welcomed Gianni Infantino, FIFA president, into the locker room right after the game: “He wants to help us, but there are other things on the table. FIFA has to do more. It’s all been a disaster. Let’s see what happens in the future.”
Infantino’s communication to Iran’s players and staff was broadcast on social media by French radio RMC Sport, with the FIFA president expressing his sympathy for the attitude of the Middle East team.
“Tonight, it was a difficult game and, with a little more luck, they could have won. But for your families, friends, people and the world, you must show that you are in the World Cup, that you are competing, and you still have two games left. And in those two games that you have left, you will once again fill the world with pride with what you do”, said Infantino, accompanied by the FIFA ambassador, former player Youri Djorkaeff.
“I know and understand what you are going through, but you are stronger than anything. You are sending a strong message to the world”, he stressed, receiving applause from the entire Iranian delegation in the locker room.
