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Iran coach criticises World Cup travel restrictions before Belgium match
21 June 2026 06:24 BST
Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei has criticised what he described as increasingly difficult preparations ahead of his team's Fifa World Cup match against Belgium, saying conditions had become "even harder" than they were before Iran's opening game against New Zealand.
The Iranian team have been based in Tijuana, Mexico, throughout the tournament and travelled to the United States for their Group G matches due to restrictions on their stay.
Ghalenoei said the latest travel arrangements left his squad with fewer than 16 hours to prepare and cut their training time in half.
"We only managed to train half the time we usually spend on training. We wanted to have optimal physical and technical preparation," he told reporters.
