The Iranian selection was legally required by Fifa to be in Los Angeles on Sunday, on the eve of its first match. A press conference is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. (10:45 p.m. GMT) at SoFi Stadium, located very close to the international airport where the players should land from Tijuana, after a flight of around twenty minutes. Starting the World Cup in “Tehrangeles” – one of Los Angeles’ nicknames for the importance of its Iranian community – might seem like an advantage, but part of the diaspora considers the selection as a propaganda instrument for the Islamic Republic. Major demonstrations were organized in January in the Californian megalopolis to denounce the crushing of a new popular uprising in Iran which left thousands dead.
Renforcées security measures
Calls for demonstrations on Monday in Inglewood around this ultra-modern 70,000-seat stadium were launched, to wave the flag of Iran before the Islamic Revolution when the green, white and red banner was decorated with a lion and a sun. Some protesters could also invite themselves inside the enclosure and boo the Iranian anthem, as in Qatar in 2022, raising the threat of tensions over the meeting. Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali warned that Iran would particularly monitor “flags and slogans”, threatening to stop the match in the event of symbols hostile to the Islamic Republic.
Calls for demonstrations on Monday in Inglewood around this ultra-modern 70,000-seat stadium have been launched. Here on June 7 during a demonstration near the stadium to protest against the Iranian regime. SARAH LAI / AFP
On Saturday, the president of the Iranian football federation Mehdi Taj recalled that Fifa had to ensure that only the Iranian flag in its Islamic Republic version would be visible in the World Cup stadiums. FIFA regulations prohibit any accessories of a “political nature” in stadiums. But its application has been variable in previous tournaments and no one knows how opponents with tickets will be treated. These uncertainties about the reception reserved for “Team Melli” contribute to the pressure surrounding the meeting in Los Angeles. Iran must play its three Group G matches in the United States, the second also in Los Angeles on June 21 against Belgium, and finally the third in Seattle on June 26 against Egypt.
The sporting challenges of the selection
Will “Team Melli” be able to play their best football in these conditions? On paper, in any case, it has a chance of progressing through the group stage of the World Cup for the first time in its history, taking advantage of a group deemed affordable, in a competition expanded to 48 teams where the eight best third-place finishers in the groups continue their journey in the direct elimination phase. Iran, 20th in the FIFA rankings, has a great opportunity to shine on Monday against New Zealand, only 85th nation in the world and looking for a first success in the World Cup. The selection counts on its star striker Mehdi Taremi, already the author of two goals during the 2022 edition in Qatar.
