Overview
- U.S. officials publicly confirmed that Iran could enter the United States only the day before each match and had to leave the same evening, a restriction Andrew Giuliani said was imposed for national security.
- A wave of visa denials for roughly a dozen backroom staff prompted Iran to move its World Cup base from Tucson to Tijuana and operate out of Mexico for the tournament.
- The team faced heavy operational strain from repeated cross-border travel, returning to Tijuana at about 4 a.m. after the Egypt match and receiving no overnight recovery time, the coach said.
- On the field Iran drew all three group matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, finished third in Group G with three points, and missed progression to the knockout stage on goal difference.
- Iran’s football federation has filed a formal complaint with FIFA and prominent sports figures criticized the treatment while U.S. authorities maintain the visa and travel limits for security reasons with no public reversal yet.