Music, songs and bouquets of flowers: hundreds of fans welcomed the Iranian national team players with celebration this Wednesday (1st), on their return to Tehran, despite their elimination in the group stage of the World Cup, a tournament marked by conflict with the United States.
“Iran, Iran!” chanted the fans, many of them children accompanied by their parents, AFP noted.
Some of them waved national flags, and many also wore ‘Team Melli’ shirts.
The excitement was led by an entertainer who led the welcome and solemnly announced the arrival of the team’s plane, coming from Türkiye to land in Tehran.
Upon disembarking, the players were greeted by musicians in military dress who played the national anthem.
Many of the fans were showing photos of goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who became a national hero thanks to his saves during the 0-0 draw against Belgium in the second round of Group G of the World Cup.
Despite this result against the group’s favorite, Iran was eliminated, ending with a record of three draws in three games.
Public apology
The Iranian team maintained its chances of qualifying until the end of the group stage, dreaming of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams, but the objective was not achieved.
“We apologize for not qualifying [para o mata-mata] and for not having given you this joy”, declared Beiranvand upon arriving at Mehrabad airport.
“We deserved to go further, but they made our task difficult,” lamented right-back Ramin Rezaian, referring to the USA, co-host of the World Cup, which, alongside Israel, attacked Iran on February 28, triggering a war in the Middle East.
Never before had a World Cup host country hosted a team against which it maintained an open conflict, and this hostility marked the preparations for the tournament.
Iran’s participation was uncertain until shortly before the competition, and the team changed its base at the last minute, opting to stay in Tijuana (Mexico) instead of Tucson (in the American state of Arizona).
The American government denied granting visas to several members of the Iranian delegation, mainly officials, including the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, a former member of the Revolutionary Guard, an organization classified as a terrorist group by Washington.
The Persian team felt “mistreated” on several occasions during its World Cup campaign and harshly criticized the restrictions imposed that limited its time on American soil, after being forced to travel on the eve of its first two games, traveling back and forth between Mexico and the United States in less than 24 hours and causing physical exhaustion to the players.
