Iran moves camp from Arizona to Mexico, clearing path to play in World Cup
Key takeaways
- Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15.
- This World Cup will be the first in which a qualifying team will play in a host country with which it was at war.
- Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran requested permission to move its base across the border, a request Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday had been granted.
Iran players pose for a team photo before a friendly against Costa Rica in Turkey on March 31. (Riza Ozel / Associated Press) By Kevin Baxter Staff Writer Follow May 23, 2026 3:46 PM PT 2 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X Linked In Threads Reddit Whats App Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, the president of the country’s soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament.
Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. It will play Belgium in Inglewood six days later before finishing the group stage against Egypt in Seattle. But there had been questions over the Iranian team’s security in the U.S. after American and Israeli attacks on the country began nearly four months ago.