Mehdi Taremi says Team Melli playing for 'every Iranian' at WC - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei and forward Mehdi Taremi said that they will be playing for all Iranians at the FIFA World Cup, as the prospect of protests looms ahead of their opening fixture against New Zealand.

Iran's squad touched down in Los Angeles on Sunday for the first of three Group G fixtures that are to be staged in the United States. Monday's meeting with the Kiwis is set to be followed by an encounter with Belgium also in Los Angeles on June 21 then a clash with Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran's meeting with New Zealand will take place against a backdrop of a conflict that began in February when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran — hostilities that were the subject of a reported peace deal on Sunday — and visa processing issues that forced the squad to relocate its training camp from Arizona to Mexico and prevented several staff members from entering the United States.

The city of Los Angeles has the largest Iranian population in the United States, and reports have indicated that tens of thousands could stage protests outside SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, ahead of Team Melli's opening game.

«I would like to let you know that we are here to play football and we are here to represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside Iran or the Iranian diaspora,» Ghalenoei said via a FIFA translator when asked about the prospect of protests in his official prematch news conference. «We only think about our country. We are not political people.

»The Iranian nation, we respect each and every one of the Iranians."

Ghalenoei made a deliberate effort on several occasions throughout his news conference to thank journalists for asking questions on the challenges