ANKARA, May 21 (Reuters) – Iran‘s national soccer team attended visa appointments in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday ahead of the 2026 World Cup, with the whole squad applying for Canadian visas and some players also submitting applications for U.S. entry.
The World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Iran due to play all three of their group-stage matches in the United States.
Iran are scheduled to face New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles before taking on Egypt in Seattle five days later. They would require access to Canada if they progress to the knockout rounds.
The whole squad attended appointments for Canadian visas, while some players who had not applied for U.S. visas before the Iran war also submitted applications in Ankara, an Iranian football federation official said.
Some foreign-based Iranian players joined the squad in Ankara before later travelling to the team’s training camp in Antalya on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, the official said.
Iran is holding a pre-tournament camp in Turkey after the Iranian domestic league was suspended following U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country that began on February 28, leaving many players short of match fitness.
The team trained in Antalya earlier this week as coach Amir Ghalenoei attempted to prepare his squad after most domestic-based players went seven weeks without competitive soccer during the suspension of the Iranian league.
Iran qualified early for the expanded 48-team World Cup, but preparations have been overshadowed by uncertainty over travel and security arrangements following the conflict between Iran, the U.S. and Israel.
Iran‘s football federation had previously said U.S. visa applications for the team would be handled in Turkey after discussions with FIFA.
Iran are due to play Gambia in a friendly on May 29 before Ghalenoei names his final 26-man World Cup squad by FIFA’s June 1 deadline.
(Reporting by Mert Ozkan, Writing by Ece Toksabay, Editing by Gareth Jones)
