Iran World Cup team flies to Mexico

ANTALYA: Iran’s World Cup squad left Turkiye for Mexico on Saturday, taking off under the shadow of a diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington after the US refused to issue visas for some of the team’s support squad.

The team will be based in Tijuana in northwest Mexico for the duration of the tournament, Iranian state TV reported.

The team “took off this evening for Mexico to participate in the World Cup after” training in Turkiye, it said.

Team Melli had spent nearly three weeks at a training camp in Antalya, using their time in Turkiye to apply for visas to travel to Mexico, Canada and the US.

On the eve of their departure for Mexico, the players received their US visas, Washington’s envoy to Turkiye Tom Barrack said on X late Friday.

Iran, who are in Group G, will play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by a game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Ahead of their departure, Iran played a final friendly against Mali in Antalya on Thursday, which they won 2-0. They played a first match on May 29, beating Gambia 3-1.

Elsewhere, striker Romelu ‌Lukaku continued his comeback for Belgium with 25 minutes off the bench as they enjoyed a 5-0 victory over 10-man Tunisia on Saturday, a final warm-up fixture for both teams before they head to the US.

Leandro Trossard, Charles De Ketelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin scored the goals as ‌Lukaku grabbed ‌an assist, making his second ‌international appearance in a year having netted against Croatia on his return on Tuesday.

Lukaku did not make a single start for Napoli in Serie A this season.

The form of winger Jeremy Doku, who was superb on the left wing, underlined why he may be a ‌star of the ‌World Cup.

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