The Iranian football federation confirmed to Deutsche Presse Agentur (dpa) on June 15 that Iran's national team will be permitted to stay overnight in the US during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Observers said a memorandum of understanding reached between Iran and the US may have helped facilitate the arrangement.
According to the tournament schedule, all three of Iran's group-stage matches will be played in the US. Iran are set to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 21 respectively, before taking on Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Amid the conflict involving Iran and the resulting complications related to visas, team accommodations, and cross-border travel, questions had persisted over how the Iranian men's national team would participate in this year's World Cup.
Previous reports indicated that the team would only be allowed to enter the US on matchdays and would be required to return immediately after each game to its training base in Tijuana, Mexico.
However, the Iranian football federation has now confirmed that the national team will be allowed to remain overnight in the US when appropriate.
As part of their pre-match obligations, the entire Iranian squad appeared at Los Angeles stadium on June 14. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei and forward Mehdi Taremi attended the team's pre-match press conference.
Ghalenoei said a number of issues unrelated to football had affected the team's preparations for the tournament.
Taremi said it took the team five hours to fly to the US after departing from its training base.
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