On the 11th (local time), the 2026 World Cup in North and Central America opened, but the Iran national soccer team's rough journey is still ongoing. The Iran team has not even properly entered the United States, where World Cup matches are being played.
Ahead of the World Cup's opening, mainland Iran has continued to come under U.S. airstrikes. U.S. Central Command said on the 9th that "in accordance with the instructions of the commander in chief (President Donald Trump), we have launched defensive attacks against Iran." It said the move was in response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter the previous day.
President Trump said that day that cease-fire talks with Iran had entered the final wording stage, and that a signing ceremony could take place in Europe this weekend. However, Iran said it had not yet made a final decision, and tensions between the two countries continue.
As the military standoff between the two countries continued, the Iran squad's path to the World Cup also was not smooth. As the United States sharply tightened entry standards, there were even cases in which international referees who were to take part in the World Cup were denied entry. There were concerns that visas for the Iran team might not be issued, but fortunately the United States issued visas to all players last week, 10 days before Iran's first match.
However, receiving visas does not mean the squad can immediately stay in the United States. The Department of Homeland Security said on the 9th, "The Iran team can enter the United States only on the day before each of its three group-stage matches." Iran will play New Zealand in its opener on the 15th in Los Angeles (LA), then face Belgium at the same venue on the 21st. On the 26th, it is scheduled to play Egypt in Seattle.
Amid this situation, the Iran team, which had planned to set up a base camp in Arizona, moved its training hub to Tijuana, Mexico. After training in Türkiye for the past three weeks, the squad arrived in Tijuana early on the 7th. Tijuana borders San Diego in the United States.
Earlier, according to Reuters, Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said, "The Iran Football Federation held last-minute talks to move the planned base camp from Arizona to Mexico, as the issuance of U.S. visas for the squad was uncertain and public opinion in Iran grew that the team's stay in the United States should be minimized."
The Iran team is currently training at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana. The Guardian said, "This is effectively the team's makeshift base camp during the World Cup," adding, "Heavily armed guards with machine guns patrol the vehicle- and smog-choked downtown around the stadium every few hours." The stadium is far from Mexico's major soccer cities and is known for its rough artificial turf, making it a venue shunned even among Mexican league teams.
The Iran team is focused on training ahead of its first World Cup match, including a 3-0 win the previous day over Tijuana's under-21 (U-21) side. The Guardian reported that with a previously scheduled friendly against the Caribbean nation Grenada suddenly canceled, the U-21 team has become effectively the most competitive practice opponent available to Iran.
The Iran team plans to travel to LA on the 14th to attend an official FIFA press conference. However, as the United States denied visas for 15 World Cup operations and support personnel, the team will take part in the tournament without some staff. Since the World Cup's inception in 1930, this is the first time the host nation is receiving a country currently at war.