Mehdi Taremi sharply calls out FIFA after Iran’s latest draw: “From the beginning, it has been a catastrophe”
The captain of the Iranian national football team, Mehdi Taremi, delivered one of the harshest public criticisms of the organizers of the 2026 World Cup after Iran, with its third draw in Group G, was left uncertain about qualification for the knockout stage. Iran played 1:1 against Egypt in Seattle, finishing the group without a defeat, but also without a win, after earlier draws of 2:2 against New Zealand and 0:0 against Belgium. According to FIFA’s official format for the expanded tournament, the two best national teams from each of the 12 groups advance, along with the eight best third-placed teams, so Iran’s fate after the end of the group depended on the results of other matches.
After the match in Seattle, Taremi said that the situation for the Iranian national team was “catastrophic” and directly called out FIFA over problems that, according to claims from the Iranian camp, had followed the team from the start of the competition. According to The Guardian’s report from the stadium in Seattle, the Iranian captain stated that part of the logistical and administrative staff did not have visas to enter the United States of America and that FIFA had failed to resolve in time the obstacles that affected the national team’s preparation. Taremi particularly emphasized that FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously visited the Iranian dressing room and told the players that “this is only the beginning”, but that, by the end of the group, in his view, nothing significant had changed.
A third draw that left Iran waiting
The sporting outcome was just as dramatic as the events off the pitch. Against Egypt, Iran had the chance to secure direct historic qualification for the knockout stage of the World Cup, but Shoja Khalilzadeh’s goal in stoppage time was ruled out after a VAR review for offside. The Guardian reported that Khalilzadeh found the net in that same finale, while Saeid Ezatolahi had earlier headed against the crossbar, further heightening the sense of a missed opportunity. According to the interpretation of the rule based on IFAB Law 11, a player is in an offside position if he is nearer to the opponents’ goal line than both the ball and the second-last opponent, and precisely that detail became decisive because the Egyptian goalkeeper, in that move, found himself outside his usual position in goal.
The 1:1 draw meant that Egypt secured second place in the group and qualification for the round of 32, while Iran, with three points, had to wait for the final ranking of the third-placed national teams. FIFA’s competition system for 2026 includes 48 national teams for the first time, which means that a round of 32 teams is formed after the group stage. In such a format, third place no longer means automatic elimination, but it does not guarantee progression either, so Iran’s record of three draws remained on the line between historic success and disappointing elimination.
For Iran, the match against Egypt was a continuation of a highly unusual group. FIFA’s report on the first match recorded that Iran twice came from behind against New Zealand in Los Angeles and finished the match 2:2. After that, against Belgium, according to FIFA’s report on the match in Los Angeles, Iran played 0:0 in a game marked by solid defending and goalkeeping interventions. The third draw left the impression of a national team that, despite all the circumstances, remained competitive, but failed to turn stability into a win that would have brought it certainty.
Taremi: FIFA had to solve the problems
Taremi’s message was aimed at the very top of FIFA. According to The Guardian’s report, the Iran captain said that FIFA “must solve every problem” at a tournament like this, but that, in the case of the Iranian delegation, in his words, it had not done so from the start of the competition. His criticism referred to visa restrictions, the absence of part of the technical and organizational staff, and constant travel between Mexico and the United States of America. Taremi also said that the Iranian national team had to “fight against everything”, describing the feeling that sporting challenges were intertwined with administrative and political obstacles.
According to an earlier report by The Guardian after the Iran and New Zealand match, Taremi, Mohammad Mohebi and head coach Amir Ghalenoei had already spoken publicly at that time about problems with travel and recovery. Ghalenoei then said that Iran was, in his opinion, the “most oppressed” team of the tournament, because after matches the national team had to return to its base in Tijuana instead of staying in the host city for recovery. The players claimed that such arrangements made training, rest and medical preparation for the next matches more difficult.
Particularly controversial was the fact that all three of Iran’s group matches were scheduled in the United States of America, while the national team was based in Tijuana, a Mexican city on the border with the USA. Al Jazeera, citing the AFP and Reuters agencies, reported in early June that Iranian players had received visas to participate, but that the Iranian embassy in Turkey claimed that a “large” number of key staff members had been refused entry. The same report stated that the Iranian Football Federation announced it would raise the issue with FIFA, considering it a decision that affected equal conditions for participation in the tournament.
The base in Tijuana and exhausting travel to the USA
The Iranian camp claims that changing the base from the United States of America to Mexico created an additional burden for the team. According to Al Jazeera, Iran was initially supposed to be based in the USA, but because of political tensions and uncertainty over visas, it moved its camp to Tijuana. Logistically, that choice allowed the national team to remain close to the American host cities, but at the same time it meant that the team had to cross the border for every match and go through more complex procedures than most opponents. After the first match, The Guardian stated that Taremi described the journey from Tijuana to Los Angeles as a trip lasting several hours, which further reduced the time available for rest and preparation.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei repeated after the draw with Egypt that the Iranian national team had not asked for special treatment, but for conditions for recovery and preparation that, in his opinion, other national teams also had. The Guardian reported his statement that the team would have been better prepared had it been allowed to arrive in the USA earlier and stay longer after matches. Ghalenoei particularly warned that leaving immediately for a flight after a physically demanding match can delay players’ recovery, and that such a regime, according to him, was something Iran had to go through several times during the group stage.
Despite criticism of the American hosts, Ghalenoei had earlier praised the reception in Mexico and the support of the people in Tijuana. According to The Guardian, the Iranian head coach said that the Iranian players felt at home in that city. In doing so, he further emphasized the difference between the hospitality at the Mexican base and the difficulties that the team, according to claims from the Iranian camp, experienced when entering and staying in the USA. At the time of Taremi’s latest statements, according to the available information published in the reports used, FIFA had not issued a new detailed statement responding to each of those claims.
Infantino in the dressing room and promises that did not stop the dissatisfaction
One of the most notable details of the entire case was Infantino’s visit to the Iranian dressing room after the match against New Zealand. According to The Guardian, the FIFA president then told the players that he understood what they were going through and told them they were “stronger than everything”. His appearance was meant to have a calming tone, and head coach Ghalenoei later said he believed Infantino had tried to help as much as he could. Still, after the match with Egypt, the Iranian camp said that a concrete solution had not arrived in time to change the conditions in which the team finished the group.
Taremi highlighted precisely that contrast as the reason for public dissatisfaction. According to The Guardian, the Iranian captain recalled that after the first match Infantino had spoken about the beginning of the tournament, but that the group had ended and the Iranian national team still did not have all of its logistical staff available. In sporting terms, this is especially sensitive because at major tournaments the difference between progression and elimination often comes down to details: recovery, travel, analysis, media communication, medical preparation and matchday routines. Iran was competitive on the pitch in Group G, but until the end it remained burdened by the question of whether circumstances off the pitch had undermined equality of conditions.
After the draw with Egypt, Ghalenoei went a step further, calling on FIFA not to allow hosts in the future to treat national teams in a way that could undermine the sporting integrity of the competition. According to The Guardian, the head coach said that Infantino needed to “stand up” against such behaviour by hosts. That statement carries broader significance than the Iranian case, because the 2026 World Cup is being played in three host countries, across great distances and in a complex political environment. The organizers presented the tournament as a global and inclusive event, but the Iranian case shows how administrative decisions can become a sporting issue.
A broader test for the expanded World Cup
The 2026 World Cup is the first edition with 48 national teams, and when introducing the new format, FIFA emphasized that it had decided on 12 groups of four teams after considering sporting integrity, the fan experience and player welfare. In practice, however, the expansion of the tournament has also brought a greater number of matches, a wider geographical range and more complex schedules. The Iranian case does not arise solely from the sporting calendar, but also from a specific political and visa context, yet it shows how sensitive the organization of a competition is when national teams depend not only on the pitch, but also on border regimes, permits and international relations.
For FIFA, it is especially sensitive that the complaints concern equality of competition conditions. If one national team cannot use part of its staff, has to travel between countries within shorter timeframes and does not have the same recovery rhythm as its opponents, then the question of logistics turns into a question of sporting integrity. According to the claims of the Iranian camp, that is precisely what happened during Group G. On the other hand, without a full official response from FIFA and the American authorities to each individual claim, part of the circumstances remains described through the statements of players, coaches and media reports.
Through their public comments, Taremi and Ghalenoei have therefore opened a subject that will probably outlive Iran’s result in the group. If Iran reaches the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed national teams, the story will continue with the impression of a team that survived exceptionally demanding conditions. If it is eliminated, the disallowed goal against Egypt and the logistical difficulties will remain the framework for a debate about whether the national team had equal conditions. In both cases, the message from the Iranian dressing room was clear: in their view, the problem was not only in the draws, but in a tournament where the fight for progression was also being waged far away from the grass.
Sources:
- The Guardian – report from Seattle on the statements of Mehdi Taremi and Amir Ghalenoei after the Iran – Egypt match and on the logistical and visa complaints of the Iranian camp (link)
- The Guardian – earlier report after the Iran – New Zealand match on Infantino’s visit to the dressing room, the base in Tijuana and problems with travel to the USA (link)
- FIFA – official explanation of the 2026 World Cup format with 48 national teams, 12 groups and progression for the eight best third-placed teams (link)
- FIFA – official results, schedule and match data of the 2026 World Cup, including Group G matches (link)
- FIFA – report and data from the Iran – New Zealand 2:2 match in Group G (link)
- FIFA – report and data from the Belgium – Iran 0:0 match in Group G (link)
- Al Jazeera / AFP / Reuters – report on the visa dispute, the Iranian national team’s move to Mexico and claims by Iranian institutions about refused visas for staff members (link)
- IFAB – official Law 11 on offside, used to explain the context of the disallowed goal against Egypt (link)