Iran players conduct first open practice at Tijuana camp

TIJUANA: Iran conducted open training at their World Cup base camp on Thursday in Tijuana, where the team arrived amid geopolitical tensions that have threatened to overshadow the world’s biggest sporting event.

The team moved their base camp from the US to Mexico late last month after the US and ​Israel conducted joint strikes on Iran beginning in late February. They are set to play the first of their three group-stage matches at Los Angeles Stadium on Monday against New Zealand.

The team had previously selected a sports ‌complex in Tucson, Arizona.

Players were seen working through basic calisthenics on the pitch under sunny skies in a recovery training session after playing Xolos de Tijuana’s U-21 team a day prior.

A sign declaring “WELCOME TO TIJUANA” loomed in the background, along with messages written in Farsi and Spanish as the players jogged around the field.

The US Department of Homeland ​Security said this week that Iranian players would be allowed to enter the US the day before each of their three group-stage matches, countering previous media reports that claimed the team would have to enter and exit the US the same day they were playing.

A team official said Iran would travel to Los Angeles on Sunday, a day before their World Cup opener, for training and the official FIFA press conference, and planned to hold two more open practices on Friday and Saturday.

Iran are set to return to Los Angeles to play Belgium on June 21 and will close out their group stage against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.