Iran’s World Cup Squad Heads to Turkey for Final Training and Visa Push Ahead of USA Trip.

Iran’s national team will fly to Turkey on Monday to begin their final preparations for the 2026 World Cup.

Head coach Amir Ghalenoei announced the move on Saturday, saying the squad will set up camp in Antalya the same place where they trained and played friendlies back in March.

The team is taking 30 players for this last training camp, which will eventually be cut down to the official 26 man World Cup squad. Among the notable names is star striker Mehdi Taremi, the 33 year old former Porto forward who now plays for Olympiacos.

Ghalenoei admitted that picking these 30 players was “the most difficult technical decision” of his coaching career, stressing that every choice was made purely on footballing merit.

While in Antalya, Iran hope to play two warm up friendlies. One has already been confirmed a match against Gambia on May 29.

Because Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, the players will use their time in Turkey to complete visa applications and procedures for entry into the US. No visas have been issued yet, and the players are expected to do fingerprinting in Turkey. Federation officials are hoping to avoid a long trip from Antalya to Ankara for the process.

Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj is also expected to meet with FIFA president Gianni Infantino to seek assurances for the squad amid current tensions.

Once they arrive in the United States, Team Melli will base themselves in Tucson, Arizona. They open their Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, before facing Belgium (also in LA) and Egypt in Seattle.