The Iran national football team must prepare for long hours of travel to compete in the 2026 World Cup.

BOLASPORT.COM – Although Iran’s national team has been granted visas to participate in the 2026 World Cup, they are only permitted to make short visits to the United States (US) for their matches.

As the quadrennial tournament approaches, the issue of visas for Iran’s squad has become one of the most widely discussed topics.

This visa complication has emerged amid heightened political tensions between the US and Iran in recent months.

Initially, the rising diplomatic strain led the US government to consider prohibiting Team Melli from playing within its borders.

This stance was directly expressed by US President Donald Trump through his social media platform, Truth Social.

The prohibition also manifested in the implementation of a travel ban for Iranian citizens entering the US.

As a result of this travel restriction, Iran’s national team decided to relocate its training base to Mexico in order to continue its participation in the 2026 World Cup.

However, shortly before the start of the prestigious tournament, the US eventually issued visas for Mehdi Taremi and his teammates.

Unfortunately, only the players were granted visas, while several key officials and staff members were still denied entry into the country.

Amid this visa dilemma, Iran’s Ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, delivered disappointing news to the national team.

During the group stage of the 2026 World Cup, Iran will play all of its matches in the US, specifically in California and Seattle.

Although the team technically has visas, the strained diplomatic relations have forced them to adopt a strict travel schedule.

Pasandideh stated that due to the tense situation, the team would have to arrive in the US shortly before each match and depart immediately afterward.

“We can arrive in the morning and must leave on the same day,” Pasandideh said, as quoted by BolaSport.com via the Daily Mail.

This situation means Team Melli will have to exert additional effort, as their journey from their training base to match venues will be quite extensive.

In Mexico, Iran’s camp is based in Tijuana. When playing at SoFi Stadium in California, they will have to travel approximately two hours by road.

Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium at that stadium, which means they will need to endure four hours of round-trip travel each time they play.

Even more challenging, Iran will face a journey of about 9–11 hours by air from Tijuana to Seattle for their final Group G match against Egypt at Lumen Field.

Given these travel times, concerns have arisen that Iran may struggle to perform at their best during the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

Nevertheless, Team Melli’s players remain determined to break their long-standing World Cup curse.

Since their debut appearance in the 1978 tournament, Iran has never progressed beyond the group stage.

Out of the 18 group-stage matches they have played in their World Cup history, Iran has managed to secure only three victories so far.