Iran were ordered to leave the United States immediately after their opening World Cup draw with New Zealand, a turmoil that manager Amir Ghalenoei said left his squad without time to recover. "After the game today, they said to us, 'You have to leave immediately,'" Ghalenoei disclosed. "It's very important for us to have time for recovery, but we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that."
The forced departure plunged the national team into further logistical chaos. Already relocated from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, shortly before the tournament, several squad members were reportedly refused entry into the USA. The team had to complete a 136-mile trip from Tijuana to Los Angeles to face Belgium on Sunday, with Group G wide open after consecutive opening draws.
“Iran were ordered to leave the US immediately after their opening draw and are now back to face Belgium.”
Striker Mehdi Taremi branded the situation a "disaster." "FIFA told us you have to go because it's our preparation. It's supposed to be tomorrow morning recovery, then we fly to Tijuana, then return to Los Angeles again," he said. "But now, right now, we have to go back. We don't have our media, we don't have our president of the federation, we don't have the vice-president and some staff also, which is so important for us. Everything is a disaster."
Ghalenoei added that the Americans "delayed our arrivals, and they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery. They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we're not going to let that stop us from doing our best." It remains uncertain whether Iran will once again be forced to head back to Mexico ahead of their final group fixture against Egypt at Seattle Stadium next weekend.