Iran World Cup squad to head for Mexico via Spain while still awaiting their US visas

Iran’s national football team will depart for Spain this weekend as part of their journey to their World Cup base in Mexico, despite still awaiting visas for travel to host nations, according to the head of the country’s football federation.

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The 2026 World Cup is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, but Iran has yet to secure entry visas for either the United States, where they are scheduled to play all three group-stage matches, or Mexico, where the team will be based during the tournament.

“We will leave for Spain on Saturday, and from there the team will go directly to Tijuana in Mexico,” said federation chief Mehdi Taj during a sports programme broadcast on state television on M onday. We will obtain a Mexican visa tomorrow (Tuesday) or the day after, and then a US visa will be issued quickly,” he added.

The Iran national football team has been drawn in Group G, where it will face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 21, before meeting Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Taj said the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East earlier in the year disrupted the team’s preparations. “The situation in the country, and especially the war, has upended all our plans,” he said. “We had arranged good warm-up matches, including one against Spain, which was cancelled.”

Iran initially planned to base its World Cup camp in Tucson, Arizona, but later relocated to Tijuana, Mexico, amid regional tensions. The team is currently training in Turkey, where it recently beat Gambia 3-1 in a friendly in Antalya and is scheduled to play Mali in another warm-up match.

Taj also pointed to financial pressures affecting preparations. “Our World Cup preparations have also been dogged by financial difficulties because of the economic crisis in the country and the sharp depreciation of the rial against the dollar,” he said.