{"id":2571,"date":"2026-07-02T19:16:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:16:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/iran-squad-celebrates-heartfelt-tehran-homecoming-after-world-cup-campaign\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T19:16:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:16:32","slug":"iran-squad-celebrates-heartfelt-tehran-homecoming-after-world-cup-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/iran-squad-celebrates-heartfelt-tehran-homecoming-after-world-cup-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran squad celebrates heartfelt Tehran homecoming after World Cup campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Iran\u2019s World Cup squad returned to a far warmer homecoming at Tehran\u2019s airport on Wednesday than the reception they received when they landed in the United States for their three group fixtures.<\/p>\n<h2>Homecoming at Mehrabad after a heartbreaking campaign<\/h2>\n<p>As the team arrived, chants of \u201cIran, Iran!\u201d echoed from a crowd of several hundred children, along with their parents and dedicated supporters.<\/p>\n<p>Many waved the Iranian national flag, while others wore bracelets in the country\u2019s colours or dressed in the \u201cTeam Melli\u201d strip as they celebrated a side that came within touching distance of reaching the knockout rounds for the first time.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Iran finished third in their group after drawing all three matches.<\/li>\n<li>They were eliminated because they were not among the eight best third-placed teams on goal difference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Joy, music and tributes as the squad touched down<\/h2>\n<p>The atmosphere surged when it was announced that the team\u2019s flight from Turkey had arrived. Iran had travelled there first after being based in Mexico during the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>When the players came down from the aircraft, they were accompanied by musicians in military uniform performing the national anthem.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters also focused on goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, whose standout display in the 0-0 draw with Belgium made him a national figure.<\/p>\n<h3>Beiranvand and Rezaeian on what went wrong<\/h3>\n<p>Speaking to the fans after landing at Mehrabad airport, Beiranvand offered an apology for the campaign\u2019s outcome: \u201cWe apologise in front of you, for failing to qualify and to bring you happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Defender Ramin Rezaeian voiced a frustration heard repeatedly among the Iranian group, arguing that immigration obstacles encountered in the United States meant they could not make history.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe deserved to go further, but they really made the task more complicated for us,\u201d Rezaeian said.<\/p>\n<h2>Fans\u2019 reaction and the group-stage rollercoaster<\/h2>\n<p>The same view was echoed by 42-year-old supporter Mona Banisafa, who was among those who turned out to welcome the squad home.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Banisafa said the players gave everything but it \u201cdidn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>She added that the fans had come to thank the team regardless of the result.<\/li>\n<li>She believed a slightly better set of circumstances would have produced a stronger outcome.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Iran\u2019s campaign featured a sequence of rapidly shifting emotions during the late stages of the group matches.<\/p>\n<p>First, they believed they had secured a late winner against Egypt\u2014enough for automatic qualification\u2014only for celebrations to end when VAR ruled the goal was offside.<\/p>\n<p>Afterwards, finishing third forced them to wait and see whether they would be selected among the eight best third-placed sides and advance to the knockout stage for the first time in their history.<\/p>\n<p>At one point, their hopes appeared to brighten when Algeria scored against Austria late in stoppage time in their Group J match.<\/p>\n<p>But Austria quickly struck back, levelling just six minutes into added time and thereby overturning the scenario Iran needed.<\/p>\n<p>Senegal ultimately claimed the final eighth spot thanks to superior goal difference, finishing on plus two compared to zero.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran\u2019s World Cup squad returned to a far warmer homecoming at Tehran\u2019s airport on Wednesday than the reception they received when they landed in the United States for their three group fixtures. Homecoming at Mehrabad after a heartbreaking campaign As the team arrived, chants of \u201cIran, Iran!\u201d echoed from a crowd of several hundred children, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Iran World Cup Homecoming: Tehran Celebrations After Campaign","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Iran\u2019s World Cup squad returns to Tehran with chants, flags and heartfelt scenes at Mehrabad\u2014celebrating after a tough campaign an","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ 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