Iran national team prepares for World Cup match amid travel hurdles

Iran’s senior football team travelled from Mexico to Los Angeles ahead of their 2026 World Cup Group G game against New Zealand. Coach Emir Kalenuyi said the shift of their training camp from the United States to Mexico caused delayed preparations, but he hopes “travel problems won’t affect our game quality.”

Forward Mehdi Taremi noted a “tension” after a Somali referee was barred from entering the United States, adding that officials are also affected by the dispute. He emphasized that the squad is focused on football and not politics. The press conference was hampered by translation difficulties, with English and Spanish questions failing to be rendered into Farsi due to headset problems.