Iran wins friendly match against Gambia 3-1 in Turkey days before traveling to World Cup

(30 May 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Antalya, Turkey – 29 May 2026 1. Wide of bus carrying Iran's football national team 2. Close-up on badge reading Football Federation Islamic Republic Iran 3. SOUNDBITE (Farsi), Mahdi Mohammad Nabi, Iran's football federation official and team coordinator: "It is not our first time being a part of the world cup, we have been a part of the world cup for a few rounds. We have enough experience, we have tried to deal with challenges professionally. Our players are professional players. We try to dedicate our attention to practising and things like that, we don't allow our players to enter these distracting conversations, their focus is on technical stuff." 4. Bus carrying team leaving STORYLINE: Iran won a friendly match against Gambia 3-1 in Turkey on Friday just days before traveling to participate in the World Cup in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The team play its group stage matches in the U.S., but its base has been moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, a move that Iran’s soccer federation announced recently and that was formally confirmed by FIFA, the sport’s governing body, on Monday. Moving the training base comes against the backdrop of the war in Iran, which the U.S. and Israel launched on Feb. 28. Iran’s soccer team is slated to play matches in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and against Belgium six days later, before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. Iran’s federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. Before the war broke out, the team was originally planned to set up its base in Tucson, Arizona. But with tensions simmering, Iran’s team moved its base to Tijuana in Mexico, president Claudia Sheinbaum said, confirming an announcement by the Iranian federation over the weekend. The federation said the Iranians had received approval from FIFA, which made the move official on Monday when it released the lists of all 48 base camp sites. Teams use base camps to train before and after matches. This year’s World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The possibility of a move had simmered for months in the uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns. U.S. sanctions on Iran were likely to only make the team’s stay in the U.S. more complex. The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday that President Donald Trump had made it clear the Iranian team was welcome to participate in the tournament. AP video shot by Khalil Hamra =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...