The Iran squad arrived after a short flight from Tijuana, Mexico, where they left their base camp earlier to a rousing sendoff ahead of their opening game against New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium early Tuesday, Reuters reported.
“I am very happy to be representing the great, proud and strong nation of Iran,” Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said through a translator in a press conference at the stadium.
“I hope that football will bring about joy and enjoyment, and bring closer the cultures and countries.”
The squad’s Group G fixture against New Zealand will be played against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran and the newly-announced peace deal, adding a charged atmosphere to a contest between two nations who have never met at a World Cup.
Iran moved their World Cup base camp from a sports complex in Arizona to Mexico late last month after the U.S. and Israel conducted joint strikes on Iran beginning in late February.
Iran will now have to make the trip from Mexico to the U.S. for each of their three group matches and Ghalenoei said the travel and the denial of visas into the U.S. for some members of their soccer federation had negatively affected the squad.
MNA
