On 27 June (CEST), in the third match of Group G in the football World Cup group stage, Egypt drew 1:1 with Iran. After the match, Iranian striker Taremi gave an interview in the mixed zone.

First, what do you feel about the dramatic ending of this match?

Unfortunately, I'm sad, but we still have hope. People always have hope. We had good energy in the dressing room after the match. So let's see what happens next. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's match and its result.

Do you know if you have to return to Tijuana tonight?

Yes, we have to go back. We've complained about this from the start.

This was a catastrophic World Cup. I mean, FIFA should have solved all these problems here, but unfortunately they couldn't solve them from the beginning.

Infantino came to our training room during the first match and said he would fix everything. But the group stage ends tomorrow, and our logistics staff aren't here—they don't have visas.

How is it possible that we always have to travel to Tijuana? We love the Mexican people, we love Tijuana, it's a beautiful place, they're very humble, we respect them.

But as professional players in a professional competition, this is wrong. Yes, that's our opinion. Because now we have to go back to Tijuana again. No recovery time, nothing—it's unfair. In our view, it's unfair. If FIFA thinks it's fair, then okay, good luck to them. But it's unfair.

Who wants to help us? If they want us to leave, okay, then help us, let us leave. But it's unfair. We have no recovery time. We also have no logistics staff to support us. What else can we say? We complain about it, but nobody helps. Nobody.

You just complained about travel problems. What do you think about VAR disallowing two goals in two consecutive matches because of a few centimeters after reviewing the replay?

That's a football issue. But we complain about things outside of football because these details also matter in football. You know, recovery is a very important thing—small details can affect a football match.

Yes, we just... we have hope, as I said. We have great energy in the dressing room. We'll keep moving forward and see what happens in tomorrow's match.

I'm sorry, but there's nothing more to expect from the match itself, because in this situation from the beginning until now, we've done everything possible in 90 minutes. We're proud of ourselves. If something goes wrong, it's my responsibility because I missed the penalty. If the team can get through the group stage, thank God.

Do you think someone wants Iran to leave this tournament as soon as possible? Do you think it would be more convenient for FIFA and US authorities if Iran didn't participate in the competition? And do you as a team have to deal with this?

We have to deal with everything here. I don't know if people think that way, but from our perspective, yes, it seems to me they prefer it.

How is it possible? You play 90 minutes under such pressure, and then we have to travel back again. Imagine if we advance from the group stage tomorrow, if we're lucky and we advance, but we have no recovery time—how is that possible?

Can you explain? Have you been let down at this World Cup?

No, we've done everything we could. We'll always do everything we can. We fight for our people. We want to make them happy, to bring them joy. We want to send a message of peace to people inside Iran, outside Iran, to FIFA, to everyone.

But what we get from others is not peace. Who will help us solve this problem? Who? FIFA? I don't know. The USA? I don't know. Who? Tell me a name.

Can Infantino do more to solve this problem?

As I said, Infantino came during the first match and said he would fix all the problems here. But in reality, nothing has happened.

Our logistics staff aren't here. Look, we have no media—where is our own media? You can check, there's no media here. None. Nobody. I don't know where the equipment manager is, nobody. Nobody. Vice president, president—where are these people?

How much would you like to stand here and talk only about what happens on the football pitch, without discussing all these off-field problems?

On the football pitch? You mean this match? No, we have the strength. As you saw, we played well. I think we fought for 90 minutes, and that was perfect. Yes, because of some small details, we couldn't win the match.

But we're here, we're present, we want to show ourselves. As I said, we want to bring joy to our people. But I mean, small details affect the game, recovery is important, a clear mind is important, but we don't have a clear mind here.

You talked about various situations. I want to ask—this match was called the "Battle of Pride," and there was a lot of controversy around it. How did this factor affect you?

In our religion, our religion does not accept this. But we respect all LGBTQ+ groups. It's their own belief, and it has nothing to do with us. We're here to play football. We respect all these people. If you have questions about the match, I'll answer them.

Can you talk about the connection between you and your teammates in the dressing room? There's a video online where you're speaking to the whole team. Tell us about your relationship and your desire to continue this journey with them.

Pre-match motivation from Taremi: Don't show a weak mentality when facing big-name stars, clear your mind, and run with all your strength.

Yes, we're looking forward to continuing our journey. We have good internal energy, but we also need to talk about these external circumstances. We need to talk about it because we can't always keep it inside. Some people may not like us, but we feel this is wrong.

I think we have great energy in the dressing room, positive energy. We'll keep going. Let's see what happens tomorrow.

Last question. Given everything you've been through, what would it mean for Iranian football to advance to the second round?

Honestly, my friend, we came here to make our history. We're pursuing this goal. We've done everything for them.

I don't know what else to say. Let's just wait until tomorrow. If our dream comes true, thank God; if not, I think we're still proud of our play, our players. For everything we've done in the last three matches, we're proud. Let's see what happens.

Send a message to FIFA.

FIFA is doing everything it can. We know they also have problems they can't solve, you know that.

But football should not be part of politics. It shouldn't be. That's what we want, that's the message we want to leave. That's it.

Переведено ИИ.

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