Iran's head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, has voiced strong dissatisfaction with the treatment his team received from the United States, a co-host of the World Cup, during their recent tournament experience. Following Iran's final group-stage match, a 1-1 draw against Egypt on Friday, Ghalenoei stated that his team was treated "very unfairly" and urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to address such behavior in the future.
"It was the host that wasn’t very good to us," Ghalenoei said. "I urge FIFA to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future. I hope Mr. Infantino will actually stand up to such behavior."
The team's journey has been marked by turbulence, including a move of their training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. They also encountered logistical challenges in traveling for their group matches.
Despite these hurdles, Iran is in a strong position to potentially advance to the round of 32 as one of the eight best third-place teams. Their hopes were dashed late in the match against Egypt when a stoppage-time goal by Shojae Khalilzadeh was disallowed after a marginal offside review.
The match itself took place in Seattle on June 26, 2026, amidst the city's annual PrideFest. While no official Pride activations were observed at FIFA's fan festival or within the stadium, rainbow flags were visible among the crowd. Outside the venue, supporters of Iranian dissident Reza Pahlavi gathered, contributing to a charged, though peaceful, atmosphere.
Iran fell behind early in the match but managed to equalize nine minutes later. The score remained tied until a frantic period in the second half where Iran appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal, only for it to be overturned by VAR. The team continued to press, hitting the crossbar before the final whistle.
Team captain Mehdi Taremi described the World Cup as a "disaster," not due to on-field performance but because of the perceived mistreatment. He highlighted issues such as some Iranian logistics personnel lacking visas and the absence of notable Iranian media presence, contrasting it with the vocal Egyptian media support.
Iran was denied permission to remain in the United States overnight for the third consecutive match and was scheduled to return to Tijuana in the early hours of Saturday. Ghalenoei believes these actions "deprived" his team of adequate opportunities for mental and physical recovery.
"To my players and the team, I want to say to them I’m proud of them," Ghalenoei stated. "What these young people, these players have done, it should be written in history because the host country treated us very unfairly. Their behavior towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that. Despite all of these problems, we’ve been able to perform well and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I think that’s our greatest achievement despite all the obstacles and the hurdles they put in our way."
Similar to their post-match routine after their second group game in Los Angeles, the Iranian team left a handwritten note in their locker room, expressing gratitude for Seattle's hospitality and for the support of Iranians, emphasizing football as a "test of character." The team was then scheduled to depart for the airport for their flight back to Tijuana.