Iran has announced that its World Cup squad will travel to Turkey on Monday for a training camp, friendlies, and visa applications before heading to the United States, head coach Amir Ghalenoei announced on Saturday.
Team Melli will return to Antalya, where they trained and played friendly matches in March.
They are taking a roster of 30 players, which will have to be reduced to the World Cup limit of 26. Perhaps the best-known is Mehdi Taremi, a 33-year-old former Porto striker who now plays for Olympiacos.
“Selecting 30 players for this final training camp ahead of the World Cup was the most difficult technical decision of my coaching career,” Ghalenoei told the Iranian football federation website, adding that he had selected players solely on “technical criteria.”
Iran intends to play two friendlies in Antalya. They have already confirmed one match, against Gambia on May 29, according to Sam Mehdizadeh, an Iranian-Canadian who runs a company that organizes the team’s friendlies.
Iran and the United States severed diplomatic ties in 1980, and the players are expected to spend their time in Turkey completing visa applications.
“No visas have been issued yet,” Mehdi Taj, the Iranian football federation head, told Iranian media on Thursday.
Taj stated that players will be fingerprinted in Turkey as part of the visa process, but they prefer not to travel over 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Antalya to Ankara.
Taj plans to meet with FIFA President Gianni Infantino to seek assurances for their squad amid increased tensions due to the ongoing war.
When the squad arrives in the US, they will set up camp in Tucson, Arizona, where they will begin their World Cup preparations.
