Iran played a beautiful game in the worst conditions: Coach Amir Ghalenoei celebrates Belgium’s draw
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei praised his team’s performance after Sunday’s goalless draw against Belgium at the SoFi Stadium, saying his players had put in a “beautiful game” despite facing what he described as the “worst possible conditions” at the World Cup.
The result left Iran on two points from two matches in Group G after an opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand.
Ghalenoei cited a tough travel schedule, visa complications and limited preparation time as some of the challenges his team had to overcome during the tournament.
“We came to the World Cup in the worst possible conditions,” Ghalenoei told reporters. “And yet we got a result against a great team and a great manager.
“We played a beautiful game.
Iran, who is based in Tijuana, Mexico, arrived in the United States on Saturday night, played Belgium on Sunday and was scheduled to return to Mexico later that day.
“We’ve played two great games without losing,” Ghalenoei said. “Tonight we celebrate. Tomorrow we focus on Egypt, which is a very strong team.
“We need to recover and then we have to fly back. We don’t even have enough time to recover. Tomorrow we will look at this game and the game against Egypt.”
Iran’s coach said recovery will be key ahead of Friday’s final group stage match against Egypt in Seattle.
“Right now we need recovery,” he said. “Sixteen hours, two flights and a tough game. I don’t think anyone could have endured this. And our players gave it everything. What we need most now is to recover.”
Winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh said Iran was only looking for fair conditions to prepare and travel with its full support staff.
“That is only justice,” said Jahanbakhsh. “I think for all the teams and I don’t think we’re asking a lot.
The former Brighton player added that the difficulties helped bring the team together.
“On the other hand, it’s part of our culture to perform better in a tough situation. I think it brought us together even more and that’s one of the things we showed today. We showed a lot of character and part of that comes from the situation we’re in.”
Iran face Egypt at Lumen Field on Friday knowing a positive result could secure a place in the knockout stages for the first time in the country’s history.
“I hope we can go a little bit earlier in the next game,” Jahanbakhsh said. “Seattle is a different city, a different place, and further away from where we live in Tijuana.
Ghalenoei and Jahanbakhsh both goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand praisedwho made a series of important saves to help Iran get a point.
Beiranvanda’s best save came midway through the second half when he reacted quickly on his goal line to stop a dangerous ball from Kevin De Bruyne’s cross.
“He is one of our best goalkeepers in the history of Iranian football and today he had one of his best days,” Ghalenoei said. “He had the right concentration and gave us one very valuable point.
Iran also enjoyed strong support from their supporters, who made themselves heard among the crowd of 70,317 at the SoFi Stadium as the team secured a result that keeps their hopes of reaching the last 32 alive.
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
June 22, 2026 10:02 AM IST