Iran's national football team attended visa appointments in Ankara, Turkey, on May 21 to apply for Canadian visas for the entire squad and US visas for some players, officials confirmed [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Iran plans to play all three of its 2026 FIFA World Cup group-stage matches in the United States: against New Zealand on June 15, Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles, and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle [1, 2, 3, 4].
The team only needs Canadian visas if it progresses to the knockout rounds of the tournament, which will be held from June 11 to July 19 across the US, Canada, and Mexico [1, 2, 3, 4]. An Iranian football federation official said, "The whole squad attended appointments for Canadian visas, while some players who had not applied for US visas before the Iran war also submitted applications in Ankara" [1].
Some foreign-based Iranian players joined the squad in Ankara before traveling to a pre-tournament training camp in Antalya on Turkey's Mediterranean coast [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, first vice president of the Iranian Football Federation, said the squad "would travel to Ankara to complete both US and Canadian visa procedures for all team members, and several foreign-based players were also expected to join the delegation" [5].
The Iranian domestic football league was suspended in March following US and Israeli strikes that began on February 28, resulting in many players missing seven weeks of competitive soccer [4]. Iran is holding the training camp in Antalya after the suspension, with player fitness affected [1, 2, 4].
Players attended visa interviews in person at the US embassy consular section in Ankara, with some still awaiting approval weeks before the tournament's kickoff [3, 6, 5]. An Anadolu Agency report noted, "One player smiled when asked whether his visa application had been successful" [3]. Iran's football federation said US visa applications would be processed in Turkey after discussions with FIFA [1, 2, 4, 5].
Iran is scheduled to play a friendly match against Gambia on May 29 as part of preparations. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei will finalize the 26-man World Cup squad by the June 1 FIFA deadline [1, 2, 4].
