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Iran’s national football team has been granted visas to enter the United States for the 2026 World Cup, just 10 days before their opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. US officials confirmed the approvals, but a number of Iranian team staff and federation officials were denied entry, intensifying a diplomatic row between the two countries, which are at war.
The team, which arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, on June 7, is based there for the tournament despite playing all three group-stage matches in the US. This marks the first World Cup in which a host nation receives the team of a country it is at war with.