Iran to hold final World Cup warm-up behind closed doors in Turkey

ISTANBUL: Iran will play its last World Cup warm-up match behind closed doors in Turkey on Thursday before leaving for its tournament base in Mexico on Saturday, the Iranian Football Federation said on Wednesday.

Iran, which was among the earliest teams to secure qualification for the World Cup, has faced uncertainty over its participation since the United States and Israel began air strikes on the Islamic Republic in late February. Since the outbreak of the war, the team has held two training camps in Antalya and played three friendly matches there, losing to Nigeria and defeating Costa Rica and Gambia.

Its next opponent is Mali in the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya. In a statement, the federation said the game would be played without spectators or media access because of its sporting significance and the plans of the coaching staff.

“Considering the importance of the Iranian national football team’s friendly match against Mali, and in line with the tactical objectives of Iran’s head coach, tomorrow’s match against Mali will be held behind closed doors and without media attendance,” FFIRI said in a statement.

Base moved from Arizona to Mexico

The federation also secured Fifa approval to switch Iran’s World Cup base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico. From there, the team will cross the border for its first two Group G matches, against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles. Iran’s third and final group-stage game, against Egypt, is scheduled to be played in Seattle.

Iran are due to open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 15.

US position on Iranian delegation

On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had no objection to the Iranian team entering the United States, but said officials or staff linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would not be allowed to accompany the squad.

Speaking during a House of Representatives committee hearing, Rubio said US authorities would closely examine who was included in the delegation. “What we’re not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature, so we were going to watch that very closely,” Rubio said during a House of Representatives committee hearing.

The United States and Canada, which are co-hosting the World Cup with Mexico, both classify the IRGC as a terrorist entity. In late April, FFIRI President Mehdi Taj was denied entry to Canada for the Fifa Congress because of his links to the force.