Iran's national football team leaves US after 2-2 draw with New Zealand

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's national football team has left the United States and returned to its training camp in Mexico hours after drawing 2-2 with New Zealand in its opening match of the 2026 World Cup, head coach Amir Ghalenoei said. Ghalenoei said the squad had been scheduled to carry out a routine post-match recovery in California, but were told to go to the airport immediately and return to the camp, located roughly 225 kilometers from Tijuana. The coach did not identify the authority that issued the order. "They didn't even give us time to recover. After today's match, we were told we had to leave right away. We need time to recover, but we were asked to board the plane and return to the camp in Tijuana, which makes things very difficult for us," Ghalenoei said. Iran's participation in the tournament was approved by Tehran only after FIFA rejected a request to move the team's three group-stage matches outside the United States, a decision made against the backdrop of the conflict that began on February 28. Ghalenoei said the team had arrived two days before the match and needed to stay overnight to recover, but added that he did not know the reason for the order. Iran will face Belgium in its second group match on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.