Iran Football Team Set to Land in Mexico on Sunday

Iran's football team will arrive early on Sunday in Mexico. This is where they will stay during the World Cup, according to a team statement on Wednesday.

The statement said, "The Iran national football team will depart Antalya for Tijuana at 15:20 (1220 GMT) on Saturday, June 6, and is scheduled to arrive in Mexico at 1:30 am (0730 GMT) on Sunday, June 7."

The players have been training in Antalya, Turkey since May 18. They are still waiting for their US visas.

The 2026 World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19. The tournament is being hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

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

On Monday evening, Mehdi Taj, the head of Iran's football federation, said the players should get their visas for Mexico by Tuesday or Wednesday. He added, "Then a US visa will be issued quickly."

It is still unclear if the players have received their visas yet. Taj stated that the team would fly to Mexico through Spain.

Tensions from the ongoing war have made the US visa situation more complicated. On May 24, Taj said Team Melli decided to change their World Cup base from Tucson in Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico.

Before leaving on Saturday, Iran will play a final friendly match against Mali in Antalya on Thursday. They won their last game against Gambia 3-1 on May 29.