{"id":4580,"date":"2026-06-30T18:40:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4580"},"modified":"2026-06-30T18:40:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:40:42","slug":"iran-heads-home-after-a-heartbreaking-world-cup-knockout-but-fans-say-players-should-be-proud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=4580","title":{"rendered":"Iran heads home after a heartbreaking World Cup knockout, but fans say players should be proud"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) \u2014 The Iranian national team left North America on Tuesday, departing from its World Cup home in Mexico following a tournament marked by repeated disagreements with U.S. officials, flashes of athletic brilliance and, ultimately, disappointment over barely missing out on advancing beyond the group stage. <\/p>\n

Read more Ben Shelton stunned at Wimbledon with 1st-round loss to Finnish qualifier<\/a><\/p>\n

The players return to a homeland still in the grips of an unresolved conflict with Israel and the United States. But their fans say they should be proud. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think even though they lost, it gave people a sense of hope,\u201d said Mohammad Modarres, 38, who traveled from San Diego to bid the team farewell. <\/p>\n

Heartbreak over missed chances<\/h3>\n

After its three group stage matches ended in draws, Iran\u2019s World Cup future depended on either Algeria or Austria winning their match on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Watching from the lobby of their Tijuana hotel, the team erupted in celebration when Algeria took the lead in stoppage time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never seen a room explode like that,\u201d said Kimia Ranjbar, 25, a lifelong fan of Team Melli who had driven down from the Los Angeles area. But minutes later, Austria tied the game again, leaving the lobby in dismayed silence. <\/p>\n

It was the last of many disappointments throughout the tournament, including when a late goal by Shoja Khalilzadeh gave Iran the lead in its last match, against Egypt, before being ruled offside.<\/p>\n

Facing challenging circumstances<\/h3>\n

Distractions abounded off the pitch before and during the tournament, beginning with questions over whether Team Melli would even be allowed to play in light of Iran\u2019s war with the U.S. and Israel. What followed was Iran\u2019s denied request to move its matches to Mexico, a relocation of its base camp from Arizona, and the U.S.\u2019s refusal to grant visas to key members of the Iranian team\u2019s staff. The U.S. also rejected Iran\u2019s request to travel to the U.S. two days before its Los Angeles matches, though it relaxed some restrictions for Iran\u2019s last match.<\/p>\n

During a World Cup security briefing Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters that the U.S. had made several accommodations for Iran\u2019s travel and repeated assertions that many of the people Iran originally requested to travel with the team to the U.S. were associated with Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guard. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just glad they\u2019re done and they\u2019re not coming back,\u201d Mullin said, adding that he \u201cmight have sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA did not respond to request for comment.<\/p>\n

In a statement to The Associated Press on Monday, the Iranian team said Mullin\u2019s remarks showed a lack of commitment to international law and the basic standards expected to host a global tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that he openly celebrates Iran\u2019s elimination says far more about him than it does about our team. It reflects a level of pettiness that cannot even tolerate the presence of a football team competing on the world\u2019s biggest stage,\u201d said the team, which declined requests to interview players and staff.<\/p>\n

Before decamping Tuesday, the team thanked Mexico and Tijuana for their \u201ckindness\u201d but questioned its treatment at the tournament by the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we experienced was a series of decisions, logistical arrangements, and circumstances that undermined the sense of fairness \u2014 an impression only reinforced by the events of the final matchday of our group,\u201d the team said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Members of the Iranian diaspora were also divided about whether supporting the team showed tacit backing for Iran\u2019s theocratic government, which many of them oppose. Some wanted to keep politics and sports separate.<\/p>\n

Read more Center Kristaps Porzingis re-signing with Warriors on two-year, $40 million deal, AP source says<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t see someone screaming at (U.S. soccer star) Christian Pulisic for something Trump does,\u201d Modarres said.<\/p>\n

Though the team spoke out against its travel restrictions, it avoided commenting directly on the war. But it didn\u2019t shy away from spotlighting the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school at the start of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Players wore pins with the number \u201c168\u201d when they first landed in Mexico, referencing the number of people, mostly children, killed in the attack, which was likely launched by the U.S. They left a note in the locker room at Los Angeles Stadium, calling for peace \u201camong all nations\u201d and with the hashtags #168 and #minab, the school\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

Sherry Ghaemi, an Iranian living in Los Angeles, called their stand for the young victims \u201chonorable.\u201d <\/p>\n

New friendships are forged<\/h3>\n

Amid the strife, players tried to focus on the sport. There were high notes, like when goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand made seven saves to hold Belgium to a scoreless draw, and when Ramin Rezaeian scored off the outside of his boot to equalize against New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going home not as losers, they\u2019re going home as winners,\u201d said Ghaemi. \u201cWe\u2019re proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeting some of the players was a thrill for Siavash Khosrowshahi, a 32-year-old Iranian American who drove from Los Angeles to Tijuana on Sunday, the day after the team was eliminated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really tough and stressful,\u201d Khosrowshahi said of the months since the U.S. and Israel started the war. There were times during the conflict when he couldn\u2019t reach his parents in Tehran \u2014 but not Sunday, when he called his mother from the hotel and surprised her by putting Beiranvand on the phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a source of happiness for her,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Iranians and Mexicans also deepened a bond, as Tijuana embraced the team throughout its visit. <\/p>\n

\u201cIr\u00e1n, hermano, ya eres Mexicano!\u201d fans chanted in Spanish whenever they saw Team Melli: \u201cIran, brother, now you are Mexican!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIran is taking home the best of our country, and this city, which is the way in which outsiders are received,\u201d said Arely Ram\u00edrez, a Tijuana resident who turned up at the team\u2019s hotel Sunday hoping to meet some of the players.<\/p>\n

The feeling was mutual. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re leaving Tijuana today, but our heart and soul stay here,\u201d head coach Amir Ghalenoei said Tuesday through an interpreter before the Iranian team left for the airport.<\/p>\n

On Monday, many players still looked solemn as they passed their last hours in Mexico. A few signed final autographs and stood for photos with fans, their smiles more muted than the week before. <\/p>\n

Despite the disappointment, some supporters were already looking ahead. \u201cThis whole year has been bad events, bad luck after bad luck\u201d for Iranians, said Ranjbar. But the AFC Asian Cup is six months away, a new chance for Team Melli, she said. \u201cI\u2019ll be watching them play for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more LeBron James not returning to Lakers, plans to play 24th season elsewhere, AP source says<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press reporter Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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