Iran 3-1 The Gambia — World Cup Warm-Up in Antalya; Ambassador Slams US 'Country to the North' for Visa Failures

Iran's national football team (Team Melli) defeated The Gambia 3-1 in a pre-tournament warm-up friendly in Antalya, Turkey on May 29, building match sharpness ahead of their Group G opener on June 15 vs New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The result was Iran's final warm-up result before their squad relocates to the Centro Xoloitzcuintle training facility in Tijuana, Mexico — their base camp after the US denied visas to the entire delegation. Concurrent with the match, Iran's ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, held a press conference in Tijuana, publicly calling out 'the country to the north' (the United States) for failing to issue visas and stating Iran is not competing on 'equal terms.' As of May 29, not a single member of the Iranian delegation — players, coaches, or medical staff — had been issued a US entry visa despite FIFA President Infantino's repeated pledge. Iran demanded multiple-entry visas to avoid separate visa applications for each of the minimum six border crossings required to reach their group matches at SoFi Stadium (LA, June 15 and June 21) and Lumen Field (Seattle, June 26) from their Tijuana base. Iran's June 1 squad submission deadline to FIFA is 72 hours away. 13 days to kickoff at Estadio Azteca.