The Selection Puzzle
ANTALYA, Turkey — Iran's national team is heading to the World Cup while its country is at war with the United States, an intersection of sport and conflict that has no parallel in tournament history.
Saeid Ezatolahi, a 29-year-old midfielder, is preparing for his third World Cup appearance with Iran. He acknowledges the unusual burden of representing a nation in active hostilities while trying to focus on football.
The list looks clean on paper; the hard part is everything that happens after it is printed.
"That's going to be my third World Cup," Ezatolahi said in English on the sideline of a training session. "For me and some of the other players, it might be easier to manage these kinds of things. But at the end, it is going to be difficult because at the same time, we are following the news in our country and the political things, of course, can affect the mind of the players and the people."
The team has been based in Antalya for more than two weeks, practicing at the Turkish coastal resort while navigating a chaotic visa situation. Originally scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona, problems with U.S. visa processing forced a relocation to Tijuana, Mexico. Players even traveled to Ankara to submit visa applications at the U.S. embassy.
The Fitness Questions
The Iranian squad will travel to Mexico this weekend after finally securing entry permits. Their first two group matches will be played near Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Iranian expatriate communities in the world.
"We are expecting to have a lot of fans during our games at the stadium," Ezatolahi said. "And this is going to be a lot of pressure for us because the expectation is going to be high. I just wish we can make them proud and show them that Iranians are prepared for every hard job in the world."
Mohammad Ghorbani, 24, is making his first World Cup trip. The Abu Dhabi-based player spoke to the AP in Farsi about the dual reality facing the squad.
"We are football players and we have to play, practice, and prepare ourselves for the competitions we have ahead," Ghorbani said. "On the other hand, we know that our people have been going through a lot of difficulties throughout the war, and we are going there for them, to get the best results for their joy and the joy of the people of our country."
The Warm-Up Before It Counts
In Group G, Iran faces New Zealand on June 14 at the Los Angeles Rams' stadium in Inglewood, followed by Belgium on June 21 in the same venue and closes group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
"We need to clear our minds and be fresh because our target and our duty is to fight for our people, to represent our country and to show how good we are," Ezatolahi said.
Ghorbani summed up the squad's collective mindset simply: "The Iranian team is showing what it means to be a team. We are showing that we are one team under one flag that can bring joy to our whole country."