Iran’s World Cup squad to depart for Mexico on June 6 despite US visa delay

Key points

• Squad’s visas for the US haven’t been issued, with Marco Rubio saying IRGC-linked members won’t be allowed to ’embed’.
• Iran’s delegation will depart for their World Cup base camp Mexico on Saturday, despite the ongoing ambiguity over their visas for the United States less than two weeks before their opening game.
• “The Iran national football team will depart Antalya for Tijuana at 15:20 (1220 GMT) on Saturday, June 6, and is scheduled to arrive in Mexico at 1:30 am (0730 GMT) on Sunday, June 7,” the team’s official social media account announced on Wednesday.
• They will travel to Mexico via Spain.
• Iran will play their last World Cup warm-up game against Mali on Thursday in Turkiye, where they have been training for the upcoming tournament since last month.