Iran's World Cup Journey to the USA: Football Between Politics, War, and Compromise

The logistics of the trip are anything but ordinary. The team moved its training camp at short notice from Arizona in the US to Mexico, because Seattle is over 2,000 kilometers from Tijuana. The squad travels by bus from Tijuana, Mexico, to Inglewood, two hours away, and immediately afterward back across the border to the team quarters. The usual FIFA protocol – arriving the day before and departing the day after the match? That does not apply to Iran. Two friendly matches were canceled at short notice, and FIFA had had the opportunity in December 2025 to award two of the three matches to Vancouver, but decided against it. The 104 Super Bowls grandly announced by FIFA boss Gianni Infantino thus stand in contrast to an organizational feat of strength that does not resolve the political tensions but makes them visible.

Logistics Under Special Conditions

Politically, the tournament is charged for Iran in any case. Amid the "Woman, Life, Freedom" protests, the professionals fell silent before matches during the anthem, thereby setting a signal against the rulers. Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali warned: "We have already informed FIFA that the team's officials would abandon the match as soon as we hear political slogans in the stadiums." The Iranian side demands that there be no political commentary against the team or the federation at the matches, that the official flag of the Islamic Republic – and not the national flag of the opposition – be hoisted, and that comprehensive security be guaranteed for players, coaching staff, and officials. More than a million Iranians live in the USA; how will the Iranian community behave – nowhere as large in the country as in Los Angeles? The city is therefore also called "Tehrangeles" or "Irangeles."

At the opening match venue, the mood is tense. Several organizations are planning demonstrations around the stadium in Los Angeles on Monday and want to wave the pre-1979 flag of Iran featuring the lion and sun. Tehran warned last week that a scenario with opposition symbols in the stadiums would be unacceptable. FIFA rules do prohibit "political" items in stadiums, but enforcement of these rules has varied in strictness at previous World Cups. At the 2022 tournament in Qatar, parts of the crowd booed the Iranian anthem, increasing the pressure on players and the federation.

Flags, Anthems, and Threats

There are also politically motivated personnel decisions within the Iranian team. Former Bayer Leverkusen striker Sardar Azmoun is not at the World Cup. The 31-year-old was seen on Instagram in a photo with Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. That was enough for the rulers to exclude Azmoun, even though he has scored 57 goals in the national jersey. Federation president Mehdi Taj sharply criticized FIFA: "I have never seen FIFA this weak." While all Iranian players received US entry visas, not all members of the support staff did – federation chief Taj is also still missing entry authorization. At times, an exclusion, a boycott, or a relocation of the group-stage matches to, for example, Mexico were up for debate.

A Possible USA vs. Iran Clash in Dallas

Should the USA and Iran each finish second in their respective groups, they would meet directly on June 30 in Dallas. The most explosive of all conceivable matches would then take place at a neutral venue, but even the group matches harbor enormous potential for conflict. Infantino invoked the spirit of the tournament: "We must unite, we must bring people together. Football unites the world" – but the reality in the stadiums is likely to deviate from this message. Trump, meanwhile, spoke pragmatically: "I said, you can do whatever you want." The 2026 World Cup is therefore not only a sporting event but also a political litmus test for relations between Washington and Tehran.

The Iranian team arrives in Los Angeles on Sunday and plays New Zealand on Monday. The fact that it is participating in the tournament at all is already considered a compromise in political circles – the sporting outcome will be decided by the team on the pitch, the political symbolism alongside it.