Iran coach slams US travel curbs at World Cup
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Amir Ghalenoei told reporters Saturday he has been informed US travel restrictions on Iran's World Cup squad will be loosened for their third group game against Egypt in Seattle next Friday, allowing the team to plan its own travel.
- Ghalenoei said the restrictions so far had been damaging, with US authorities only permitting the squad to remain in the country for a few hours after each game and shifting rules at the last minute.
- Iran arrived in the US on Saturday — less than 24 hours before kickoff against Belgium on Sunday — after being briefly told by FIFA on Friday afternoon they might be able to travel that day, then waiting until 7pm only to hear 'Sorry, we weren't able to do that.'
- Ghalenoei said the team had only managed half its usual pre-game training session and attributed last week's sloppy defending in the 2-2 draw with New Zealand partly to fatigue from excessive cross-border commuting from Mexico.
- Group G is deadlocked with all four teams on one point, meaning only the top two are guaranteed to reach the knockout stages — raising the stakes for Iran's final group match beyond just travel logistics.
Why it matters: Ghalenoei explicitly linked travel fatigue to defensive errors in the New Zealand draw, meaning the restrictions may have already cost Iran points in a group where all four teams sit on one point and only the top two advance. The eased rules for the Egypt match arrive after two games of disrupted preparation — the competitive damage from the first two matches may already be locked in.
