Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei acknowledged that challenges exist in many parts of the world but insisted that football remains the priority for his squad.

The idea that football can unite the world in troubled times may often sound like a cliché — but not when it comes from Alireza Jahanbakhsh. The veteran forward and captain of Iran, playing in his fourth and possibly final World Cup,

Group G at the 2026 World Cup features Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand and will get underway from June 15.

Iran and New Zealand meet in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener on Monday, June 15, 2026 at 9:00 p.m. ET from Los Angeles Stadium. Iran, ranked 20th by FIFA, are appearing at their seventh World Cup — a milestone made more notable by the fact that this marks back-to-back World Cup appearances for the first time in the nation's history.

The surreal possibility hanging over Iran’s perilous World Cup campaign - WORLD CUP 2026: The hard truth is worth repeating: it is the first time in the World Cup’s 96-year history that a competing nation is at war with a host.

Anti-Iranian regime protesters have vowed to unleash “hell” at the country’s opening game of the Football World Cup on Monday night.Thousands of demonstrators opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran will travel to Los Angeles for the match against New Zealand.