World Cup 2026: Iran the most oppressed team at tournament, says coach Amir Ghalenoei after opening game vs New Zealand
Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand on Tuesday in their opening World Cup Group G fixture; Iran's build-up to the finals has been profoundly impacted by the conflict between their country and the US; head coach Amir Ghalenoei hit out at treatment of team
Tuesday 16 June 2026 11:52, UK
Iran have hit out at their treatment in the United States, with their head coach Amir Ghalenoei saying his team are the "most oppressed" at the World Cup.
The team's build-up to the tournament has been profoundly impacted by the conflict between Iran and the US, with the squad forced to move their training camp to Mexico.
They earned a 2-2 draw against New Zealand in their opening Group G fixture on Tuesday, roared on by a passionate Iranian-American crowd after their anthem had been jeered by some sections of the 70,000-strong attendance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
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Iran were not expected to even be at these finals when co-hosts the United States, alongside Israel, began a bombing campaign in February.
While a peace deal may have finally been agreed on Sunday, the build-up to the game only served to highlight the complexities and polarised views around the team's participation, with Ghalenoei appearing to aim strong criticism at the US authorities.
"We've spent so much time commuting in the air," he said. "They didn't even give us time to recover after the game today. They said we had to leave immediately.
"It's very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that.
"We do not know why they are returning us. I think it's very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere, we were supposed to arrive two nights before the game and we were not permitted, we were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why, and they haven't told us.
"Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.
"The federation is absent here. Our media isn't here. Our management team, many of them aren't here. We used to have a part of a coaching team to help with substitutions but we didn't have that. Many in the technical area had to deal with that."
Sky Sports News has approached FIFA for comment.
Iran captain Mehdi Taremi described their treatment as a "disaster" and revealed FIFA president Gianni Infantino had been in the dressing room, offering to "help" the team.
Footage of Infantino published on X sees him telling the players "you are stronger than everything", "this is just the beginning" adding that the team were "writing history, the whole world is watching you".
Infantino is also understood to have told the players he would do what he could to ensure more of the Iranian delegation, who did not receive visas, could travel to the USA for their remaining group games.
Taremi added: "We don't have our President, and no one from staff, also, which is so important for us. Our manager, for example, has come here doing the job of the media, and you know everything is like a disaster for us."
Protests and boos at Iran's first game
Protestors gathered outside the stadium before kick-off, calling for change in Tehran.
The Iran national anthem was greeted by audible boos within the stadium but minutes earlier, there had been loud cheers when images of the team in the tunnel appeared on the giant screens above the pitch, and the team also had strong vocal backing once the match kicked off.
The Iranian community in Los Angeles is primarily comprised of those who fled the country around the time of the 1979 Islamic revolution, or the children of those who did, and as such anti-regime sentiment is strong here.
FIFA won a case to ban flags with the pre-revolution 'Lion and Sun' emblem on from being brought to the stadium earlier on Monday, but plenty were in evidence within the venue in the lead-up to kick-off.
Protesters had promised "hell" in the build-up to the match and while some aggressive anti-regime slogans were chanted around SoFi Stadium, describing the leaders in Tehran as "terrorists", many attending the match were keen to separate the team from the state they represent.
