Iran’s coach Amir Ghalenoei says the Iran men’s football team is ordered to leave the United States shortly after its 2026 World Cup group-stage match against New Zealand in Los Angeles, where the teams finished 2-2 on Monday. Multiple outlets report that Iranian officials were told to depart immediately and return to the team’s training base in Mexico, with Ghalenoei saying the team was not given time to recover from the match before being sent back to Tijuana. He also describes the situation in strong terms, including calling Iran the “most oppressed team in the whole World Cup,” according to several reports. Iran’s captain Mehdi Taremi is also reported to call the situation “a disaster for us.”
Other coverage frames the departure as occurring amid broader political tension and mention of demonstrations, and notes that the team later returned to the U.S. for a subsequent group match after visa and travel disruptions. Across sources, the common elements are the immediate post-match departure claim, the lack of recovery time described by the coach, and Iran’s critical reaction to the handling of the team’s travel.
