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Iran has confirmed that its 2026 World Cup squad will travel to Turkey for a training camp on Monday.
Speaking on Saturday, head coach Amir Ghalenoei also said the team plans to complete visa applications during the trip before heading to the United States (US).
Team Melli will return to Antalya, where they previously trained and played friendly matches in March. They are taking a squad of 30 players, which will have to be reduced to the World Cup maximum of 26. Maybe the best known is 33-year-old former Porto striker Mehdi Taremi, who is now with Olympiacos.
“Selecting 30 players for this final training camp ahead of the World Cup was the most difficult technical decision of my coaching career,” Ghalenoei told the Iranian football federation website, adding that he had selected players solely on “technical criteria”.
Iran intends to play two friendlies in Antalya, of which they have already confirmed one, against Gambia on May 29, said Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who heads a company that sets up friendlies for the team. Iran and the US ended diplomatic ties in 1980, and the players are expected to use their time in Turkey to complete the necessary procedures for obtaining visas.
“No visas have been issued yet,” Mehdi Taj, the Iranian football federation head, told Iranian media on Thursday.
Furthermore, Taj said players were expected to do their fingerprinting in Turkey as part of the visa process, but wished to avoid a trip of more than 450 kilometres (280 miles) from Antalya to Ankara.
The head of the Iranian football federation is expected to hold talks with FIFA president Gianni Infantino as Tehran seeks assurances for its squad during heightened tensions and the ongoing war. When the squad arrives in the US, Iran will set up their base camp in Tucson, Arizona.
They are due to kickstart their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, then face Belgium in the same city and Egypt in Seattle, all in Group G.
