Iran FIFA team’s coach Amir Ghalenoei has said that his team has been treated ‘very unfairly’ by the United States (US) throughout the World Cup 2026.
He has now urged FIFA President Gianni Infantino to stand up to the US who are co-hosting this year’s World Cup.
After Friday’s Iran vs Egypt intense match, Iranian coach shared, “It was the host that wasn’t very good to us.”
“I urge FIFA to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future. I hope Mr Infantino will actually stand up to such behaviour”, he added.
Earlier, Egypt booked their spot in the FIFA World Cup’s next round of 32 teams after playing a dramatic 1-1 draw with Iran in their last Group G clash in Seattle.
On the other hand, Iran still has a chance to advance to the knockout stage as one of the top third-placed teams in the tournament.
The Egyptian team started better, taking the lead after Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand made a costly error. This allowed Ahmed Saber to exploit and put Egypt ahead.
However, Iran also equalised the score very soon and in the 14th minute Ramin Rezaeian found the equaliser to level the match that held value for the knockout stage.
Now, Iran find themselves in a strong position to secure one of the eight third place spots in the round of 32 of the FIFA World Cup.
Shortly after the fierce match against Egypt, the team captain Mehdi Taremi called it a ‘disaster World Cup.’
He said that the Iranian team’s logistics staff do not have visas to travel along with the football team. The team captain further mentioned that Iran’s media has also not been allowed to cover the matches and conferences.
Read more: Egypt hold Iran to thrilling World Cup draw
