Iran players – After Iran’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand in its World Cup opener, players Mehdi Taremi and Mohammad Mohebbi described what they see as chaotic treatment around the tournament—strict U.S. conditions, last-minute base-camp moves, and visa and ticket issues—while p
INEGLEWOOD, CA — When Iran’s players walked out of their locker-room mix zone in the moments after a 2-2 draw with New Zealand, they looked tired in a way that went beyond the physical strain of a World Cup opener.
Mehdi Taremi, the Iran team captain, used the same blunt word twice: disaster.
“Everything is like disaster actually for us. It’s not the right thing,” Taremi said. He added that the problems had been building for months, not days: “It’s a bad situation, and we are just tired of this situation because from the two months ago, last month we’re having a lot of problems.”
They weren’t only talking about results. They were talking about how the tournament has been run around them—how they were moved, how quickly they were made to leave, and whether FIFA and the people tasked with keeping teams stable were doing their jobs.
Iran’s frustrations sharpened after Monday’s match, June 15, when the team scored late to salvage a point. Mohammad Mohebbi netted in the 64th minute, and Taremi said he and Mohebbi spent more than 10 minutes after the game taking question after question for which they had no answers.
Why were they forced to return that evening to their base camp in Tijuana rather than staying overnight and returning the following morning after recovery?. Who made that call, and when?. And did anyone involved believe FIFA president Gianni Infantino—who visited their locker room after the game—was truly trying to improve conditions?.
Taremi, sounding exasperated, pushed back on what he could and couldn’t explain: “My friend, I’m the player. I’m not the president of the federation.” He said, “I cannot answer this question because I don’t know that. I’m just the player, I focus on the football.”
The players’ central demand was simple: travel schedules like every other team at the World Cup, not treatment that they described as rushed and demeaning. They wanted “peace,” they wanted stability, and they wanted the chance to play soccer without the tournament swallowing them whole.
The political tension they say has followed them has a clear origin: the United States began bombing Iran in late February. At one point, the U.S. president suggested Iran sit the tournament out. Iranian officials reacted with threats not to attend.
When Iran agreed to participate, the U.S. conditions that followed tightened the logistics at the worst possible time. The team was forced to move its base camp from Tucson to Tijuana, Mexico, at the last minute. Some members of the delegation were not granted visas. Tickets allotted for Iran’s fans were rescinded.
“It’s all about the problems. Which is we are tired to talk about that,” Taremi said. He framed it as a choice: if anyone helped, they would appreciate it; if not, they would keep going anyway. “If they help us, we are much appreciative about that. If no one helps us, it doesn’t matter. We just stay back to back behind each other. and we try our best to win our next two games to make our story true.”.
For two hours against New Zealand, the World Cup gave them something like what they came for. Team Melli played with intensity. “like kids trying to cram in as much fun as they can before the sun goes down and they’re called home. ” the match narrative around them suggested. They attacked New Zealand’s defense repeatedly and tested goalkeeper Max Crocombe.
Ramin Rezaeian scored Iran’s first goal, tying the match at 1 in the 32nd minute. The emotion broke through immediately: after being mobbed by teammates. Rezaeian spent close to a minute mugging for the cameras—throwing his arms wide. beating his chest. blowing kisses to the crowd. and kissing the grass.
Taremi called it something more personal than sport. “It was like a home for us.”
He also acknowledged the shortcomings. The effort wasn’t clean; Iran could have scored another three or four goals if their touches had been crisper and their aim straighter. Elijah Just had Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand figured out.
But on a day when they wanted to keep the noise at the edges, the game’s politics blurred into background.
“Yeah, we are enjoying. We just enjoy football,” Taremi said. “Since we were six years old, seven years old, 10 years old, we just follow the football and we are always looking for the football, which is so important for us. More than everything.”
In Los Angeles, that separation proved difficult. The city is home to the largest Iranian population outside the United States. many of whom fled Iran during the revolution in 1979. On match day at SoFi Stadium. the stands were filled with flags of the current regime and. despite a FIFA ban. of the previous one.
When the Iranian national anthem began, a chorus of boos met it. Taremi said the reaction wasn’t about soccer. “That’s a political thing.” He said the team played for Iranians “in all the corners of the world,” adding, “We want to make our people united.”
Outside the stadium, the political argument didn’t stop at the field. Protesters in Los Angeles explained why they think FIFA should ban Iran from the World Cup.
After the final whistle, the physical aftermath looked like what Taremi described earlier: exhaustion, not just from play. Most of the Iranian players stood motionless on the field. while a few others bent over or dropped to the turf. It was fatigue carried by both the match and the emotional turbulence this World Cup has brought them.
The scene underscored the contradiction inside the tournament itself: for Iran’s players. the World Cup is supposed to be a reprieve. They got a draw, they got moments that felt like home. But they also kept getting dragged back into decisions made far beyond the pitch—decisions that shaped where they slept. who could travel with them. and what their fans could hold in their hands.
And as they spoke after the game, their message stayed aimed at the same target: stop the disruption, let them play, and give them a schedule like every other team.
Iran World Cup 2026 Mehdi Taremi Mohammad Mohebbi New Zealand vs Iran SoFi Stadium Gianni Infantino U.S.-Iran tensions FIFA World Cup conditions base camp Tucson Tijuana Iranian fans tickets rescinded protesters Los Angeles
World Cup logistics is always messy, nothing new.
So they got treated badly because of the U.S. conditions?? That sounds like some Cold War nonsense. I mean visas and tickets being messed up is just incompetence, not “sports.”
Wait, are they saying the 2-2 draw was because of the base camp moves? Like if they changed where they stayed that affects the whole tournament? Seems a little wild but I believe they’re tired.
This is why I hate “strict conditions” stuff. Like who’s deciding any of this? If they had to move last minute that’s probably why they looked exhausted when they walked out. Also I saw something about visas being denied online last week so maybe that’s connected? FIFA should get it together.