Ahead of the first World Cup match against New Zealand, Iranian captain Mehdi Taremi has spoken openly about the tense atmosphere surrounding his team.
What happened? The football World Cup is taking place in the USA. Iran's team is playing their first match against New Zealand. At the preceding press conference, captain Mehdi Taremi said he had felt the tensions since the team had arrived in the USA. The reason is the political situation between Iran and the USA. Iran had even moved its training camp from Arizona to Mexico because there is a great dispute between the two countries. Shortly before the press conference, it was also announced that the USA and Iran had negotiated a preliminary agreement to end the war. FIFA, however, did not want to talk about politics at the press conference.
Who is helping? Iran's coach, Amir Ghalenoei, is trying to calm his team. He said that Iranians are used to making the best of difficult situations. They wanted to give the people in Iran joy with good football. The fans in Mexico, where the team is staying, were also praised by the coach. New Zealand's coach Darren Bazeley said his team did not want to be distracted by the excitement and would simply focus on the game.