Ghalenoei did not say who had instructed the team to leave on Monday night, although Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said FIFA President Gianni Infantino had visited the team in the locker room after Monday’s game.
“For sure, he wants to try to help us, but it’s about other things, too. Everyone knows it,” Taremi stated, in an apparent reference to long-standing tensions between the US and Iran, even as the over 100-day war between the two is set to end with a peace deal this week.
“I don’t need to mention that because you know where we are,” he added.
The Iranian national squad was initially set to be based in Tucson, in the US State of Arizona, for the duration of the World Cup, but moved their camp to Tijuana, Mexico, in late May after facing logistical and visa issues.
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