Across the tournament, AFC teams managed just three victories in the group stage. Only Australia and Japan survived to see the knockout rounds. But any hopes of a deep run evaporated in the Round of 32 when Japan fell 2-1 to heavyweights Brazil, courtesy of a devastating 95th-minute winner by Gabriel Martinelli.

Under FIFA's Law 11, because an offside player gained an unfair advantage by initiating that secondary goal-line chaos, the phase of play was corrupted from its very inception. Consequently, the referee had no choice but to disallow Khalilzadeh's subsequent low finish.

Iran's Mehdi Taremi – who had a penalty saved in the first half – hit the crossbar with a late header before Shoja Khalilzadeh thought he had scored a dramatic 93rd-minute winner, but it was ruled out for offside.

The United States will ease travel restrictions imposed on the Iranian team during the World Cup, allowing them to arrive in Seattle two days before their next match, the US Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday.

Modern football is a game of marginal gains, where elite teams invest millions into recovery, sleep management and carefully planned travel schedules. Standing in security queues and waiting for border clearance is not part of any high-performance preparation plan.

Ten-man Belgium were left frustrated after being held to a 0-0 draw by a determined Iran in their World Cup Group G clash in Los Angeles on Sunday, failing to find a way past the stubborn Iranian defence.

Belgium face an Iran side who also picked up a point from their opening match after a 2-2 draw with New Zealand and Garcia faces a delicate balancing act with his squad of skilled veterans and emerging talents.

The Iranian community in Tijuana is tiny - around 20 people - and much smaller than that of Los Angeles, which is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.

As the curtain rises on the 2026 FIFA World Cup tonight, the United States appears to be competing for an altogether different title -- one of the most inhospitable hosts in the tournament's history.

Iran's football federation announced on Tuesday its national team's schedule for the group stage of the World Cup, a tournament that is beginning under difficult circumstances for the Islamic republic.

Iran's World Cup squad landed in Mexico on Sunday under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row, after the United States -- in open military conflict with Tehran -- refused to issue visas for some team support staff.

Iran's national soccer team will sleep in Mexico and travel to the U.S. on the days of its three World Cup matches after Washington declined to host the squad for the tournament, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday.

An Iranian vice president called Monday for striker Sardar Azmoun, who faced allegations of treason from Iran's state media, to be reinstated to the national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Italy has played down suggestions that its national team could replace Iran at the World Cup, following reports that an envoy to US President Donald Trump had asked FIFA to consider the move.

The Iran men's national team wore black armbands and posed with school rucksacks as the national anthem played before a match with Nigeria to remember the victims of a strike on a primary school in Iran on the first day of the Middle East war.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday underlined the body's commitment to making sure the World Cup goes ahead "as scheduled" with "all teams" taking part amid doubts about Iran's presence at the tournament.

Iran booked their place in the 2026 World Cup following a 2-2 home draw against Uzbekistan at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Tuesday.