Iran’s World Cup debut had plenty of talking points. A 2-2 draw against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium on Monday was a decent result, but what’s been drawing just as much attention is the travel situation the team has been dealing with since arriving in for the tournament.
Captain Mehdi Taremi had already addressed the issue before the New Zealand match, revealing that the team spent five hours navigating travel and border security checks for what should have been a routine trip to the Los Angeles area. After the game, he went further.
“Our preparation, it’s supposed to be, as I said, tomorrow morning recovery, then we fly to Tijuana, then we return to L.A. again, but now, right now, we have to go back.” Taremi said, per The Sporting Tribune. “Everything is a disaster, actually, for us. It’s not the right thing for us, but we don’t follow the excuse. We’re just looking forward.”
Mohammad Mohebi, one of Iran’s goal scorers against New Zealand, was direct about how the arrangement has affected the squad.
“We must come here two days before the game,” Mohebi said. “Yesterday’s trip [started] in the morning and we arrive at afternoon and we direct[ly] go to the training. We get tired, you know. I think it’s supposed to be [that] we came here two days before the game. This kind of thing, I think, it’s not a little bit fair, no? We need to get fair [competition], no?”
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Iran’s World Cup Base Camp Move Explained
Iran had originally planned to set up its base camp in Tucson, Arizona. That fell apart when rising geopolitical tensions and prolonged U.S. visa delays for players, coaches and federation officials made the whole process grind to a halt.
The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran asked FIFA to step in and the governing body approved an emergency relocation, moving Iran’s official base camp to Tijuana, Mexico.
Geographically, Tijuana is right across the border from Southern California, where Iran is playing its matches. But crossing an international border before every World Cup fixture is a different thing, they feel.
Players have raised concerns about the added fatigue that comes with the extra travel and border procedures.
Iran got a point on Monday but the situation around the team is far from settled. With more matches ahead and the same travel routine in place, how the squad manages the fatigue could matter a lot before this tournament is done.