'It's a disaster World Cup!' - Iran captain blasts FIFA and Gianni Infantino over 'unfair' World Cup treatment as coach urges football to 'stand up' to USA

Iran's off-field problems overshadowed their hard-earned draw against Egypt as Taremi publicly criticised FIFA over the team's treatment during the tournament. The squad has been affected by visa issues that prevented 11 senior officials from joining the team, while repeated travel between their base in Tijuana and matches in the United States has created significant logistical challenges. Taremi said FIFA had failed to resolve the problems despite assurances from president Infantino after Iran's opening match against New Zealand.

Speaking after the match, Taremi questioned FIFA's handling of Iran's situation and said the governing body had failed to deliver on promises made earlier in the tournament. He also highlighted the absence of key logistics and recovery staff because of visa issues and criticised the team's travel arrangements.

"It’s a disaster World Cup; a disaster,” Taremi said, as quoted by The Athletic. "I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here but unfortunately they could not solve it since the beginning. Mr Infantino came to our changing room after the first game against New Zealand and said, ‘It’s just the beginning'.

"We don’t have our logistic people here - they don’t have a visa. How is it possible we always have to travel from Tijuana? We love the people in Tijuana. We love Mexico. They are humble people and we love them but as a professional player in a professional competition, it’s not right.

"It’s not fair. Our opinion is, it’s not fair. Is it fair for FIFA? OK, good to them. But it’s not fair. Who wants to help us? If they want us to be out, then OK, let’s get out. But that’s not fair. We don’t have recovery or logistic people to help us. We always complain about these things but no one helps, no one."

The frustration was echoed by head coach Ghalenoei, who directed his ire toward the United States as a co-host. The team was forced to switch training base from Arizona to Mexico just before the tournament due to the ongoing military conflict between the U.S. and Iran, a move the coaching staff believes has compromised their physical recovery.

"I know Mr Infantino has tried his best to minimise the problems as much as possible but it was the host that wasn’t very good to us,” Ghalenoei explained, as quoted by The Guardian. "I urge Fifa to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future. I hope Mr Infantino will actually stand up to such behaviour.

"Their behaviour towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that. They didn’t let us come two weeks earlier and two days earlier before every game. This has really hurt us. And we had a war as well. Despite all of these problems, we’ve been able to perform well and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I think that’s our greatest achievement despite all the obstacles and the hurdles they put in our way."

Despite the ongoing controversy, Iran still have a mathematical chance of reaching the round of 32 as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams. However, the squad will hope the off-field disruptions do not undermine their preparation as they await the outcome of the remaining group-stage matches.