Iran Football Team Heads to Mexico for World Cup

The Iran football team is scheduled to leave Spain on Saturday en route to their World Cup base in Mexico, despite awaiting visa approvals. Mehdi Taj, the chief of the Iran Football Federation, announced that the team will obtain their Mexican visas on Tuesday, while U.S. visas are expected to be issued quickly.

Iran has been drawn into Group G, where they will face New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt, with matches taking place in Los Angeles from June 15 to 21 and Seattle on June 26. The team's plans have been complicated by the ongoing Middle East conflict, particularly following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, which have disrupted their arrangements for warm-up matches, including one against Spain that was canceled in February.

Initially, the team planned to base themselves in Tucson, Arizona, but will now be in Tijuana, Mexico. Iran recently defeated Gambia 3-1 in a friendly match in Antalya and is set to play another warm-up against Mali on Thursday.

Taj expressed concerns over financial difficulties affecting the team's preparations due to the economic crisis in Iran.