Travel Issues Plaguing Iran’s National Team
The coach of Iran’s national team has once again voiced strong criticism regarding the travel complications that hampered his squad during the World Cup. He feels the team was “deprived” of the chance to adjust properly before their match.
After a 2-2 draw with New Zealand, head coach Amir Galenoei expressed frustration over directives that had the team return to their training base in Mexico post-match. He noted that they weren’t allowed enough time to recover. Galenoei mentioned to reporters that the original plan was to stay the night in California, but according to the U.S. government, it had always been intended for them to leave that same evening.
Currently, Galenoei regrets that the team won’t be able to fly back to Los Angeles until Saturday, just before their game against Belgium on Sunday. He did, however, acknowledge that FIFA president Gianni Infantino “did everything in his power” to arrange a charter flight the day before.
“They called me and asked, ‘Are you ready to catch the 6 p.m. flight?’ I was hopeful, but then we just sat and waited,” he explained to reporters. “We waited until 7 p.m., and then we were told, ‘Sorry, we couldn’t do that.’ This is going to affect us mentally, especially me as the head coach. While I appreciate FIFA’s efforts, that doesn’t mean they were successful.”
In contrast, Belgium managed to arrive the day prior for their second group stage match. Galenoei, however, mentioned that his team would get to Seattle at least two days before facing Egypt in the final group match.
“I really wish we could have done that in the first two games,” he stated. “They took that from us, which would have helped us reach optimal conditions.”
Moreover, Galenoei lamented that he hasn’t heard from any of the other 47 teams, who are not grappling with similar travel hurdles as Iran during this conflict with the U.S. Under FIFA rules, teams are generally supposed to arrive one or two days ahead of a match in “exceptional cases,” but it seems Iran wasn’t even given that option.
“There’s been no communication from anyone,” he said. “My complaints are about how World Cup organizers interacted with us.”
Galenoei expressed disappointment, noting, “I haven’t received any messages from other coaches. They’re focused on their own teams, and we haven’t had any interaction… I would have appreciated that.”
Despite the confusion surrounding their match, Iran managed to secure a commendable draw against New Zealand, thanks to goals from Ramin Rezeian and Mohammad Mohebi.
