Amid US-Israel war, Iran football team trains in Turkiye before World Cup

Amid US-Israel war, Iran football team trains in Turkiye before World CupIran will play two friendly matches in Turkiye as they prepare for the FIFA World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.Iran’s men’s football team have been training in southern Turkiye as they ⁠prepare for two ⁠upcoming friendly matches before the FIFA World Cup, where the squad are likely to attract heightened attention against the backdrop of the United States-Israel ⁠war on Iran.Team Melli held a training session in Belek, a resort area near the Mediterranean city of Antalya, with tightly restricted media access as officials ⁠said they wanted to avoid distractions before the matches described as critical to their World Cup preparations.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3New Zealand footballers willing to play Iran World Cup match outside USlist 2 of 3Iran women’s football team feted in Tehran after asylum battle at Asian Cuplist 3 of 3How Senegal lost their AFCON title to Morocco and what next – all to knowend of listIran’s football federation is in discussions with world governing body FIFA about moving its World Cup matches to Mexico from the US due ‌to concerns over player safety, federation President Mehdi Taj said last week.Iran’s camp has largely sought to keep a low public profile as the team builds towards the World Cup, where they are expected to face intense political and media scrutiny.In Belek, no interviews with players or coaches were made available, and a team media representative said the squad were focused entirely ⁠on their immediate competitive programme.Iran will play two matches ⁠in Antalya, against Nigeria on Friday and Costa Rica on Tuesday.Iran’s football team trained at the Huseyin Aygun Football Center in Antalya, Turkiye [Umit Bektas/Reuters]The friendlies were originally scheduled to take place in Jordan, but were moved to Turkiye following the outbreak of the war on Iran.The ⁠players appeared relaxed during the session in sunny conditions, with staff and players at times chatting and joking.