TIJUANA, M茅xico (AP) 鈥� Iran鈥檚 soccer team arrived in Mexico on Sunday morning for training ahead of the World Cup, before three group matches in the United States later this month.
Ehsan Hajsafi was the first player to exit the plane with markings for German charter airline USC, which arrived at about 5:05 a.m. He led the team, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, through a brief security check with Mexican officials and dogs before boarding a bus.
The bus stopped briefly at the entrance to the Tijuana airport, where around 20 or so Iran fans waved flags.
The team鈥檚 participation in the World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, has been complicated by . Problems with processing visas earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the .
The team has been training in the Turkish city of Antalya. It flew directly to Mexico on a private jet from the Mediterranean city鈥檚 airport.
Some members of their entourage were reportedly , according to Iranian state television on Saturday. Those include the Iranian Football Federation鈥檚 secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi.
Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.
In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had from participating in the tournament, saying he didn鈥檛 think it was 鈥渁ppropriate鈥� and raising concerns over players鈥� 鈥渓ife and safety.鈥� A day later, Iran鈥檚 national team , saying 鈥渘o one can exclude鈥� it from playing.
Iran on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven鈥檛 played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.
Iran鈥檚 sports minister said in March that it would 鈥渘ot be possible鈥� for the team to participate in the World Cup, but the republic鈥檚 soccer federation said in May that it was moving ahead with a team. The federation that all players and staff be granted visas, including those who had military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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