After a camp in Turkey, the Iranian national team travels this weekend to the Mexican city of Tijuana, near the US border.
But it is not under any normal circumstances that Iran is competing in the World Cup. While the tournament is just over a week away, the United States and Iran are still at war with each other - and the team's participation in the World Cup was long uncertain. In an interview with the AP, some of the players put into words what awaits.
"This is my third World Cup, so it might be easier for me and some of the other players to deal with things like this. But it will be difficult for us, because, of course, we follow the news and the political situation. It is clear that it can affect both players and the people," says Saeid Ezatolahi.
Green light from the USA
It was long unclear whether the Iranian team would even be allowed into the United States, where the team is playing all three of its group stage matches. But on Thursday, the Iranian Football Federation announced that entry permits had been arranged for the entire squad, and on Friday, the White House confirmed that it had given Iran the green light to enter the country.
The team's first two matches, against New Zealand and Belgium, will be played in Los Angeles, where there is a large Iranian diaspora. The third match, against Egypt, will be played in Seattle.
"We expect to have a lot of fans in the stadium and there will be a lot of pressure on us because the expectations are high. I just hope we can make them proud," says midfielder Mohammad Ghorbani.
Bring joy
Despite everything that is going on, Ghorbani believes that the team's mission is to perform as well as possible on the football pitch and that is where their focus must lie. He believes that as footballers, they can bring joy to the hard-pressed Iranian people through a well-run World Cup.
"We show that we are a team under one flag that can bring joy to an entire country and show the power of Iranian players and the Iranian people to the rest of the world."
February 28: The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, which cost Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his life. Iran responded with attacks on Israel, US forces, and Gulf states and has since blocked the Strait of Hormuz. Despite a nominal ceasefire, attacks in the region continue.
March 11: Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali came out and ruled out Iranian participation in the World Cup due to the war.
March 15: The Iranian Football Federation opened up about participating in the World Cup, but with the condition that the group stage matches would be moved from the United States to Mexico. Something that FIFA later rejected.
April 23: The Trump administration special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested to both Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino that Italy, who were eliminated in a playoff against Bosnia-Herzegovina, should replace Iran in this summer's World Cup. A proposal that was rejected by both FIFA and Italy.
May 9: Iran's football federation confirmed that it will participate in the World Cup. President Mehdi Taj said in an interview with the AP that the federation has sought guarantees from host countries about the Iranian team's visas, security and treatment during the tournament.
May 24: Iran announced that they were moving their World Cup base from Arizona in the US to Tijuana in Mexico. The reason was visa issues in the US and the move was approved by FIFA.
June 5: The Iranian national team has received visas to travel to the United States for the World Cup.
