Iran Football Team Heads to Mexico via Spain

Iran’s football team will leave for Spain this weekend on their way to the World Cup in Mexico. This is according to the head of the country’s football federation.

The 2026 World Cup will take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Iran still doesn't have visas from the United States or Mexico. The United States will host Iran’s three group stage matches. Mexico will be the team's base for the tournament.

“We will leave for Spain on Saturday, and from there the team will go directly to Tijuana in Mexico,” Mehdi Taj, the football federation chief, said on Monday during a sports programme on state television.

Taj added, “We will obtain a Mexican visa tomorrow (Tuesday) or the day after, and then a US visa will be issued quickly.”

Iran is in Group G and will face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21. They will play Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Taj mentioned that the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28 changed everything for Team Melli. The United States and Israel attacked Iran on that day.

“The situation in the country, and especially the war, has upended all our plans,” Taj said.

He explained that they had prepared good warm-up matches, including one against Spain, but that match was cancelled in February.

Due to the tensions from the Middle East war, Iran moved their World Cup base from Tucson in Arizona to Tijuana, a city on the northwestern Mexican border.

Currently, Iran is preparing for the tournament in Turkey.

On Friday, they won a friendly match against Gambia, finishing 3-1 in Antalya. They have another warm-up match scheduled against Mali on Thursday.

Taj also expressed concerns about financial difficulties affecting the team's preparations. He pointed to the economic crisis in the country and the sharp fall of the rial against the dollar.