Iran to Ease Travel Restrictions for 2026 World Cup Matches – Ghalenoei

Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, announced that the strict travel restrictions imposed on the national team for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be relaxed for the final Group G match against Egypt.

Until now, the Iranian squad, based in Mexico to avoid U.S. visa complications, has had to cross the border to reach the venues for their World Cup games.

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Ghalenoei criticized the logistical hurdles, saying that the fatigue from excessive flying had negatively affected the team’s performance in the earlier match against New Zealand.

“They said in Seattle, you can do what you want, you can act the way you want to, and you can come earlier,” he told a press conference, without naming the source of the information.

“I just know for the last game, yes, they’ve allowed us to decide, to make our own decisions with regard to planning the travel.”

“But unfortunately, for the first two games, others made these travel arrangements for us, and the timing for us.”

“And I think, because we have been flying too much, commuting, as a result of this long commute, we’ve been tired.”

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Ghalenoei said the team arrived in the U.S. on Saturday, less than 24 hours before kickoff, after being briefly informed by FIFA on Friday afternoon that they might be able to travel that day.

“We waited till 7.00 pm, nothing happened, and they said, ‘Sorry, we weren’t able to do that,’” the coach said.

“That’s going to affect us mentally, especially me as a head coach, because I want to focus on technical stuff,” he added.