FIFA World Cup 2026: From visa denials to Pride Match controversy, a look at Iran's tumultuous campaign

The Iranian football team's tumultuous FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign came to an end after failing to qualify as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

Iran finished third in Group G with three points from as many matches after they drew each of their games. The Mahedi Taremi-led side began their campaign with a thrilling 2-2 draw against New Zealand, before sharing the spoils again with a 0-0 draw against Belgium.

The Asian outfit then faced a must-win situation against Egypt in order to automatically qualify for the round of 32, but once again Iran dropped points as they were held to a 1-1 draw. Mahmoud Saber opened the scoring for Egypt in the fourth minute, but Ramin Rezaeiain equalised for Iran just 11 minutes later.

This was after Mahedi Taremi's penalty in the 11th minute was denied by Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir, who put in a diving effort.

For Iran, however, their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign was marred by off-the-field controversies. Right from the moment they set foot in the United States till their elimination from the FIFA World Cup, things weren't easy at all. We now take a look at everything that has happened for Iran off the field during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Visa denials

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, several members of the Iran Football Federation were denied visas to travel to the United States. This was mainly due to the political tensions between the United States and Iran.

The team's players had received their visas just a few days before their opening match against New Zealand, which was scheduled for 15 June. However, there were still 14 to 15 backroom staff, officials and high-level federation officials who did not get the visas.

This also included Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation. Mehdi Taj had links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, had said that people tied to the IRGC would be barred.

Travel restrictions

Because of their travel restrictions, Iran were forced to switch their base camp to Tijuana, Mexico. The United States had enforced harsh travel restrictions on the Iranian football team.

Before their first match against New Zealand, their flight from Mexico to Los Angeles took five hours because of intense US customs clearances.

This left the players with no time to prepare for the game, and to add to their woes, for the matches against New Zealand and Belgium, Iran were only allowed to reach the United States one day before the match.

Similarly, the Iranian players were forced to leave the United States right after their matches, which meant there was hardly any post-match recovery or sleep.

This led to Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei terming his team as the "most oppressed side" in the World Cup. “We’re supposed to stay here tonight to recover and return tomorrow lunchtime, but they haven’t permitted us. To be honest, ‌I have no idea why. I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup," he had said after the New Zealand game.

For their last group stage match against Egypt, Iran were allowed to travel to the US two days prior to their match, instead of just one day.

After the end of Iran's campaign, skipper Mahedi Taremi called it a "disaster World Cup" and criticised FIFA. “It’s a disaster World Cup; a disaster," he said.

“I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here but unfortunately they could not solve it since the beginning. Mr Infantino came to our changing room after the first game against New Zealand and said, ‘It’s just the beginning’."

“We don’t have our logistic people here, they don’t have a visa. How is it possible we always have to travel from Tijuana? We love the people in Tijuana. We love Mexico. They are humble people and we love them but as professional players in a professional competition, it’s not right,' he explained.

The ‘Pride Match’

Iran's final group-stage match against Egypt in Seattle was dubbed as the "Pride Match" as it coincided with Seattle's Pride Weekend.

However, neither the Egyptian Football Association nor the Iranian Football Federation were happy with this, with the Iranian federation president Mehdi Taj even publicly condemning the move.

He said that it was an "irrational move that supports a certain group". FIFA, however, took a neutral stance as they claimed that the footballing body wasn't responsible for the match being dubbed as a Pride Match.

Instead, the Pride Match was organised by Seattle's local World Cup Organising Committee. Fans were even encouraged to bring rainbow-coloured flags, and so they did. The match went ahead with no player protesting on the pitch, and it ended 1-1.