On June 15th, local time, in the first round of Group G of the CONCACAF World Cup held at the Los Angeles Stadium in the United States, the Iran team played a draw against New Zealand with a score of 2:2. However, Iran's head coach, Garenoei, stated that after the match, the Iran team was ordered to leave the United States.
On June 15th, local time, the Iran team played a 2-2 draw with the New Zealand team. Associated Press
According to the Associated Press, Galanoe did not reveal who ordered the Iranian team to leave early. The Iranian team was originally scheduled to stay overnight in California in order to recover as much as possible after their first match. However, they were told to board a plane immediately and return to their base in Tijuana, Mexico, which is 140 miles away.
Galiano said in a post-match press conference through a translator: “They didn’t even give us time to recover. After today’s match, they told us ‘you must leave immediately.’”
Galleno said, "For us, having time to recover is very important. However, we were required to fly back to our base in Tijuana, which really bothers us."
He said, “Honestly, I don’t know why they wanted us to go back. It seems strange. It looks like someone else is planning for us.”
We were supposed to arrive two nights before the race. We were supposed to stay and recover tonight, then go back for lunch tomorrow (June 16th). We don't understand why this is happening. Galeno said.
He said bluntly, "I believe that our team is perhaps the most oppressed team in this World Cup."
Gallenero also said that before the match, he mentioned, "Due to the long travel, we didn't have time to make adjustments. Many of our players experienced cramps, which is why we had to remove them from the field. Our substitution wasn't due to tactical reasons, but rather to address player injuries and cramps. The team's technical staff will examine the players on Tuesday (the 16th). Their delay in our entry into the country, along with forcing us to leave earlier, deprived the team of enough time to rest, making the situation even more difficult."
After the game ended about one hour later, Iranian captain Taremi stated, "We have to leave Los Angeles now, which is not in our favor. I think FIFA should provide us with more support… In fact, everything for us feels like a disaster."
On that day, Taremi also stated that on the 14th, the trip from Tijuana to Los Angeles by the Iranian team should have been short, but the team experienced a journey and security checks that lasted for 5 hours.
Earlier on the 15th local time, the Iranian Football Association confirmed with Reuters that during the World Cup, the Iranian national team was allowed to stay overnight in the United States.
It is reported that Iran has two matches left in the group stage, both of which will be held in the United States. The matches are against Belgium on the 21st local time at Inglewood, and against Egypt on the 26th local time in Seattle.
