Iran coach criticises World Cup travel restrictions before Belgium match

Iran coach criticises World Cup travel restrictions before Belgium match

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has criticised what he described as increasingly difficult preparation conditions ahead of his team's World Cup match against Belgium, saying that "conditions have become even harder" than they were before Iran's opening game against New Zealand.

Iran have been based in Tijuana, Mexico, throughout the tournament and have travelled into the United States for their Group G matches due to restrictions on their stay.

Ghalenoei said the latest travel arrangements left his squad with less than 16 hours to prepare and reduced training time by half.

"We only managed to train half the time we usually spend on training. We wanted to have optimal physical and technical preparation," he told reporters.  

Amir Ghalenoei attends a press conference ahead of Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match against Belgium in California, 20 June 2026 (Harry How/Getty Images via AFP)