Iran’s national football team Melli will compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, while tensions between the United States and Iran continue to dominate international news.
The team’s participation was overshadowed by visa issues, political tensions and logistical problems due to the US-Iraq war. However, the Iranian team is still a participant in this World Cup and is scheduled to start its World Cup journey on June 15.
Tehran arranged a last-minute move of the team’s base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, due to visa issues and growing sentiment within Iran that the team’s presence in the United States should be restricted.
The team is expected to arrive in Tijuana early Sunday.
Why is Iran’s ability to participate in the World Cup questioned?
The Iranian team, known as “Team Melli,” qualified for the 48-team expanded World Cup through Asian qualifiers and will face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in the group stages.
However, in recent weeks there has been uncertainty over Iranian authorities and players’ ability to travel to the United States, where all three group matches are set to be played.
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Parsandide, said late Thursday that the team had not yet received U.S. visas.
The semi-official Fars news agency also reported on Friday that several technical and administrative members of the Iranian team had not yet obtained visas to the United States. “The U.S. Embassy has so far refused to release the documents,” the news agency said, without citing sources.
