Iran team arrive in US for World Cup opener

Iran's soccer team arrived in the United States for ‌the first time at this World Cup on Sunday, landing at Los Angeles International Airport and holding a press conference on the same day that a ​peace deal between the two ⁠nations was announced.

The Iran squad arrived after a short flight from Tijuana, Mexico, where they left their base camp ‌earlier to a rousing sendoff ahead of their ‌opening game against New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on Monday. "I am very happy to be representing the great, proud and strong nation of Iran," Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said through a translator in a press conference at the stadium. "I hope that football will bring about joy and enjoyment, and bring closer the cultures and countries."

The squad's Group G fixture against ‌New Zealand will be played against the backdrop of the US war with Iran and the newly-announced peace deal, adding a charged atmosphere to a contest between two nations ⁠who have never met at a World Cup.

Iran moved their World Cup base camp from a sports complex in Arizona to Mexico late last month after the US and Israel conducted joint strikes on Iran beginning in late February.

Iran will now have to make the trip from Mexico to the U.S. for each of their three group matches and Ghalenoei said the travel and the denial of visas into the US for some members of their soccer federation had negatively affected the squad.

The US-Iran deal to end the war will be signed during an official ceremony on Friday in Switzerland, US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on ​social media on Sunday.

Reuters