Iran Leaves Emotional Message After Match Against Belgium
June 22, 2026 · Global
The Iranian national team after the match against Belgium left an emotional message expressing dissatisfaction with the conditions they faced during the World Cup and thanking Los Angeles for its welcome.
The Iranian national team left an emotional message in the dressing room after the duel against Belgium. In the message, they thanked Los Angeles, but also expressed dissatisfaction regarding the treatment they received during this World Cup. Before the match against Belgium, the Iranian football federation had announced that it would submit an official complaint to FIFA in the near future. Iran was not allowed to stay in the United States during the tournament, even though they played group matches there. As a result, the team lives in Tijuana, Mexico, and has to travel back and forth constantly. After the opening match against New Zealand, Iran had to leave California immediately. For the match against Belgium, teams were only allowed into the United States 24 hours before kick-off. According to the federation, this situation creates injustice. After the draw against Belgium, coach Imar Ghalenoei expressed his opinion. "We came to the World Cup in very bad conditions. But we managed to achieve results against a great team and a great coach. We played an extraordinary match," he said. "We have played two great matches without losing. Now we celebrate this result, after that we will focus on Egypt, a very strong team. We have to recover and fly again immediately. We didn't even have enough time to recover. Sixteen hours, two flights and a tough match. I don't think anyone can withstand this. Our players gave everything." Alireza Jahanbakhsh also expressed his views regarding the conditions they were facing. The former NEC, AZ, Feyenoord and SC Heerenveen player emphasized that Iran is not asking for preferential treatment. "I don't think we're asking for much. At least we'd like to have our entire staff with us on the go and be given enough time to adapt to the place where we're playing. On the other hand, it's part of our culture that we perform better in difficult conditions. I think this makes us more unified and it showed today. We showed a lot of character and part of that comes from the situation we're in, of course." After the game, Iran left a message in the SoFi Stadium locker room. "From ancient Persia thousands of years ago to today's civilized Iran: the Iranian spirit lives on and remains steadfast. Thank you, Los Angeles, for your hospitality. We come to Los Angeles with pride, play with honor, and leave with dignity." Despite the various problems faced, Iran managed to keep Belgium from scoring. Goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand was instrumental in this, with several saves making him the star of the match. Ghalenoei praised the goalkeeper, "He is one of the most important goalkeepers in the history of Iranian football and today he showed his best performance. He had the right concentration and gave us very valuable points." On Friday, Iran will face their final group match against Egypt.