For now, Iran is taking part in the World Cup despite the conflict with the United States.
Drawn with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt in Group G, Iran's participation is certainly fraught. In March, Iran's embassy in Mexico City said the country was negotiating with FIFA to move the nation's three group-stage matches to Mexico, though the global soccer body insisted the games will go ahead as scheduled.
Even before the Iran war, there was controversy
with one match in Group G. Iran is set to play Egypt in Seattle on June 26, the same weekend as Pride, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.
Both nations complained to FIFA about the “Pride Match” designation, on religious and cultural grounds. Gay and lesbian individuals in Iran face harsh penalties, including the death penalty.
Iran has qualified for four consecutive World Cups and seven overall, but Team Melli has never advanced out of the group stage. Currently ranked No. 21 in the world and coached by former player Amir Ghalenoei, Iran dropped only one match in Asian qualifying.
The team is captained by striker Mehdi Taremi, who has scored 57 goals in 102 games for the national team. He currently plays for the Greek club Olympiacos after stints with Porto and Inter Milan. Midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh plays professionally in Belgium.
Before a friendly against Nigeria in March, Iranian players held small pink and purple backpacks during the national anthem to honor the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school on Feb. 28. Evidence suggests it was a U.S. missile.
Iran's planned training camp is in Tucson, Arizona, and the team opens the World Cup against New Zealand in Inglewood, next to Los Angeles.
This will be Belgium's 15th World Cup appearance. The team's best result was third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion France. Belgium failed to advance from its group in 2022.
Belgium has a rising star in Jeremy Doku, who plays for Manchester City, as well as veteran Kevin De Bruyne, who plays for Napoli. De Bruyne, who recently returned from a thigh injury, has 36 goals in 117 games for the national team and will be playing in his fourth World Cup. Striker Romelu Lukaku has been sidelined for months with a hamstring injury and his status for the World Cup is unclear.
Belgium routed the United States 5-2 on American soil in March and is easily the strongest team in Group G.
Coached by by Rudi Garcia, Belgium opens the World Cup on June 15 against Egypt in Seattle.
Egypt has never won a World Cup match in any of its three appearances. The most recent was in 2018, when all eyes were on captain Mohamed Salah, but he missed the first match because of a shoulder injury he sustained in the Champions League final.
The team is coached by Hossam Hassan, who was Egypt’s all-time leading scorer with 69 career goals.
There will be attention on Salah again at this World Cup because he has announced he's leaving Liverpool after nine seasons. There will no doubt be speculation about where he’ll take his club career in the run-up to the tournament.
Egypt held Spain to a scoreless draw in March that was marred by anti-Muslim chants by some in the crowd. Salah did not play in the match because of a minor muscle injury he picked up during Liverpool's Champions League game against Galatasaray.
New Zealand is the lowest ranked team in the group at No. 85. The All Whites are coached by Darren Bazeley, who has held the job since 2022.
This is the third time that New Zealand has qualified for the World Cup, following appearances in 1982 and 2010. The team has never advanced out of the group stage.
Captain Chris Wood has 45 goals for New Zealand. But he recently missed five months with club team Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League because of injury and was working his way back to fitness ahead of the World Cup.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
