Team Medic Recounts Iran’s ‘Stressful’ World Cup Debut in L.A.
A member of Iran’s medical team says the team endured delays, multiple security searches and a rushed exit, frustrating players and officials.
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Can Iranians cheer Team Melli without cheering the state?
Iran’s World Cup match with New Zealand was not just a football game but a rare glimpse into the trauma and deep divisions many Iranians carry at home and abroad.
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Mohammad Mohebi explains 'gun' celebration in Iran vs New Zealand FIFA WC match
Inglewood [US], June 16 (ANI): Iran midfielder Mohammad Mohebi has addressed the controversy surrounding his goal celebration during the team's FIFA 2026 World Cup opener against New Zealand, which many interpreted as a 'gun' gesture, according to Goal. com. Mohebi said that it was 'just a celebration' and that he wanted to say 'thank you' to all Iranians who live in Los Angeles.
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World Cup 2026: Iraq's long-awaited return sparks pride at home and abroad
World Cup 2026: Iraq's long-awaited return sparks pride at home and abroad Submitted by Azhar Al-Rubaie on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 16:25 A decade after their last appearance, Iraq's national team returns to football's biggest stage, drawing support from fans at home and across the diaspora Iraq's Ali al-Hamadi dribbles the ball past Bolivia's defender Efrain Morales during their World Cup qualifier final playoff at the BBVA Stadium in Guadalupe, Nuevo Leon state, Mexico, on 31 March 2026 (AFP/Julio Cesar Aguilar) Off For Iraqis , football is so much more than what happens on the pitch. It's one of the few arenas where people from different religious sects, ethnic backgrounds and regions come together in a country long marked by conflict and division. The sport's unifying power was on display in 2007, when Iraq won the Asian Cup amid some of the country's bloodiest years of violence.
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As Iran chase glory, fans divided on off-the-field matters
(Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images) Managing one distraction at the World Cup is hard enough. As Iran's 2-2 World Cup-opening draw against New Zealand showed, Team Melli have to handle two: the fallout from the armed conflict between Iran and the United States, and the adjacent division between Iranian-American fans who support or oppose the current Iranian government.
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World Cup Daily Update | A Flag Controversy and Messi’s Last Dance
Cape Verde held the tournament favorite Spain to a 0-0 draw in the teams’ first World Cup outing, the controversy around Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag continued ahead of the country’s 2-2 draw with New Zealand, and the Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland shows roll into town.
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World Cup 2026: Iran's spirited display against New Zealand eases tensions among divided supporters
World Cup 2026: Iran's spirited display against New Zealand eases tensions among divided supporters Submitted by Bassil Mikdadi on Tue, 06/16/2026 - 11:35 Iran's football team has spent years caught between politics and sport, but in Los Angeles most fans were willing to rally behind Team Melli once again Mohammad Mohebbi and Mehdi Ghayedi celebrate after Iran scored a second goal against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Stadiumon 15 June 2026 (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images/AFP) Off Iran 's national football team has been a lightning rod for opponents of the Islamic Republic, but a spirited display against New Zealand on Tuesday won over many in attendance. Ask the average person about the power of the World Cup and they are likely to recall a moment when a nation united behind a football team that represented citizens of all backgrounds. Iran's Team Melli once held that power, but in recent years the team has become almost as polarising as the politics that dominate much of Iranian life.
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Iran overcomes its divisions for 90 minutes, then same old problems return
Support in LA included those of past and present regimes, and opponents of both, but a match that captivated all could not dissolve troubles Soccer unites. This is what we are told. It swoops in, majestic in the players’ grace, and gives a people – any people – a thing to rally around in good times and bad.
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InPics | Highlights of Day 5 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) --Cape Verde claimed the first World Cup point in its history by holding Spain to a draw on Monday. In Miami, Maximiliano Araujo scored late to earn Uruguay a 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia. In Seattle, an own goal from Mohamed Hany gifted Belgium a 1-1 draw against Egypt.
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Mixed Feelings as Iran Ties With New Zealand in World Cup
Iran and New Zealand played their World Cup opener on Monday, tying 2-2. Some spectators protested the Islamic Republic of Iran while others cheered on the team.
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Iran Draw 2-2 with New Zealand in World Cup 2026
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran denied New Zealand a first FIFA World Cup win after twice coming from behind to draw their Group G opener at Los Angeles Stadium on Tuesday, June 16.
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World Cup 2026: For Iran, this is a battle on an unequal field
World Cup 2026: For Iran, this is a battle on an unequal field Submitted by Maziyar Ghiabi on Fri, 06/12/2026 - 18:04 Athletes are caught between domestic demands for national unity, and diaspora pressure to stand up to the Islamic Republic Fans in Tehran watch Iran v New Zealand on 16 June, 2026 (Reuters) On On a Sunday in early June, Iran ’s footballers landed in Tijuana , Mexico, a few hundred metres from a border they were not permitted to cross except to play. The squad had been forced to abandon its planned base in Arizona; the United States , which has placed Iran near the top of a list of nations under a comprehensive entry ban , issued the players’ visas 10 days before their opening fixture and refused several members of the delegation. Days later, Fifa revoked the ticket allocation for the team’s three US-based games, so Iranian players will run out before stands emptied of its own supporters.
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‘Beautiful moment’: fans of New Zealand and Iran draw on World Cup fervour together
Electrifying mood among those at a bar in Wellington watching a game that threatened to be overshadowed by international politics On a cold winter afternoon in Wellington, dozens gathered at the Four Kings sports bar to watch New Zealand’s football team, the All Whites, take on Iran. The politics and hostilities surrounding Iran’s World Cup opener may have dominated attention in the lead up to the match, but in New Zealand, fans on both sides turned out for one reason: the love of the game. Continue reading...
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FIFA World Cup sees four draws in a day for 1st time in 68 Years
Los Angeles [US], June 16 (ANI): There were four draws on a single day at the World Cup for the first time since June 15, (US local time) 1958, exactly 68 years ago, when eight matches were played, as per the Athletic.
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FIFA WC: Iran earns 2-2 draw against New Zealand
Los Angeles [US], June 16 (ANI): Iran secured a hard-fought 2-2 draw against New Zealand in their opening World Cup match on Monday, in a thrilling contest played against the backdrop of protests by Iranian supporters against the government in Tehran at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
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(SP)U.S.-LOS ANGELES-FOOTBALL-FIFA WORLD CUP-GROUP G-IRN VS NZL
(260616) -- LOS ANGELES, June 16, 2026 (Xinhua) -- Players of Iran walk into the court before the group G match between Iran and New Zealand at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Los Angeles Stadium in Los Angeles, the United States, June 15, 2026.
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The UFC 250 Was a Garish Spectacle of American Decline
Only the hackiest screenwriter imaginable would script America’s debasement this way.
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How Algeria and Kansas became the World Cup’s most unlikely love story
How Algeria and Kansas became the World Cup’s most unlikely love story Submitted by MEE staff on Mon, 06/15/2026 - 18:35 As Muslim and Arab World Cup figures face heightened scrutiny at the US border, one Midwestern city has embraced Algeria with open arms Patrons in Kansas City bar 'Johnny's Tavern' give a warm welcome to the Algerian National Football Team while holding an Algerian flag (@JohnnysTaverns/X Screenshot) Off Before Algeria had even kicked a ball at the 2026 World Cup, the team had already won over one US city. In Lawrence, Kansas, a college town better known for the University of Kansas Jayhawks than for international football, the Algerian national team’s arrival has triggered an unexpected outpouring of affection. The city’s relationship with the Algerian team, affectionately known as the Desert Foxes, began months before the tournament, when Lawrence was officially announced in February as Algeria’s base camp for the World Cup.
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In NYC's Little Senegal, World Cup excitement meets exclusion and economic strain
In NYC's Little Senegal, World Cup excitement meets exclusion and economic strain Submitted by Azad Essa on Mon, 06/15/2026 - 01:51 The Senegalese will take on France on Tuesday, but many locals will be excluded from the match taking place just 30 minutes away Saliou Gueye, a sports science student, outside the Senegalese Association of America (Azad Essa/MEE) Off In the barber shops and cafes of Little Senegal, the West African enclave stretching along 116th Street in New York City's Harlem, big screens glow with football matches, flags drape from walls, and nearly every conversation finds its way back to the upcoming clash between France and Senegal. Every third or fourth storefront displays Senegal's green-and-white football shirts, hanging prominently in windows and doorways. Along the avenue, passersby stroll in bucket hats striped red, yellow and green - the colours of the Senegalese flag.
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Carlos Queiroz set for record-equalling 5th straight World Cup as Ghana face Panama
New York [US], June 15 (ANI): At 73, Carlos Queiroz is still one World Cup short of equalling the record for the most appearances by a coach at the tournament, but he is set to enter the history books once again this week. Queiroz will lead Ghana in their Group L opener against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday, extending a remarkable streak that began with Portugal at the 2010 World Cup.
