Last-minute visas and moving training camp: Iran's road to the World Cup
Key takeaways
- Under this cloud of war, the Iranian football team faced numerous challenges, including where they would be based for the tournament, and if they could secure visas into the US.
- Iran was one of the first teams to qualify for the tournament, and US visas for the players were only approved on Friday.
- However, visas have been denied for several members of staff, including the head of Iran's football federation, Mehdi Taj.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Pooriah Jafreh Orhan Cicek/Anadolu via Getty Images Players of the Iran National Football Team during a friendly match against Gambia in May When Iran qualified for the World Cup on 25 March 2025, few could have imagined the challenges that lay ahead.
More than a year later, Iran's participation has become one of the most complex stories of the tournament - scheduled to play at a host nation whose joint-military strikes with Israel killed Iran's supreme leader and sparked a conflict which is ongoing.
Under this cloud of war, the Iranian football team faced numerous challenges, including where they would be based for the tournament, and if they could secure visas into the US.