June 27th, FIFA World Cup Group G Round 3: Egypt 1-1 Iran. After the match, Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi was interviewed in the mixed zone.
First, how do you feel about the dramatic ending of this match?
Unfortunately, I feel sad, but we still have hope. People always have hope. We had good energy in the locker room after the game. Let's see what happens next. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's game and seeing the result.
Do you have to return to Tijuana tonight?
Yes, we do. We've been complaining about these things from the beginning.
This is a disastrous FIFA World Cup. FIFA should have solved every problem here, but unfortunately, they failed to address them from the start.
Infantino came to our training room during the first game and said this was just the beginning. 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 and Tijuana; it's wonderful there, and they are very welcoming. We love them.
But as professional players in a professional competition, this is not right. This is our opinion. Now we have to go to Tijuana again. No recovery time, nothing. This is unfair. In our view, this is unfair. If FIFA thinks this is fair, then fine, good luck to them. But it's not fair.
Who can help us? If they want us out, fine, help us leave. But this is not fair. We have no recovery time. We don't have any logistics staff here to support us either. What more can we say? We've been complaining about these issues, but no one helps. No one.
You were just complaining about travel issues. What are your thoughts on VAR disallowing two of your goals in consecutive games by a few centimeters after you watched the replays?
That's a football matter. But what we're complaining about are things outside of football, because those details also matter in football. Recovery is very important—small details can affect a game.
Yes, we still have hope, as I said. We have good energy in the locker room. We'll keep looking forward and see what happens in tomorrow's game.
Look, there's nothing more to expect from the game because in this situation from the beginning until now, we've done our best for 90 minutes. We are proud of ourselves. If something went wrong, it's my responsibility—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 or the US authorities if Iran weren't in the competition? And that your team has to fight against these things?
We have to fight against everything here. I don't know if people think that way, but from our perspective, yes, I think they would prefer that.
How is it possible to play for 90 minutes under so much pressure and then have to travel again? Imagine if we get through the group stage tomorrow—we get lucky and advance—but we have no recovery time. How is that possible?
Have you been let down in this FIFA World Cup?
No, we did our best. We will always do our best. We fight for our people. We want them to be happy; we want to bring them joy. We want to send a message of peace to people in Iran and beyond, to FIFA, to everyone.
But what others gave us was not peace. Who will help us solve this problem? Who? FIFA? I don't know. The US? I don't know. Tell me a name.
Can Infantino do more to solve this problem?
As I said, Infantino came during the first game and said he would solve all the problems here. But in reality, nothing has been done.
Our logistics are not here. Where is our own media? You can check—there is no media here. None. I don't know where the equipment manager is. No one. The vice president, the president—where are these people?
How much do you wish you could stand here and just talk about what's happening on the field, without discussing all these off-field issues?
About the game? We have strength. You also saw we played very well. I think we fought for the entire 90 minutes—it was perfect. We just couldn't win because of some small details.
But we're here. We want to prove ourselves. As I said, we want to bring joy to our people. Small details affect the game; recovery is important; a clear mind is important. But we don't have a clear mind here.
This game was called "The Battle of Pride," and there was a lot of discussion about it. How did this factor affect you?
In our religion, our religion does not accept this. But we respect all LGBT people. That's their own choice and has nothing to do with us. We are here to play football. We respect all these people. If you have questions about the game, I will answer them.
Can you talk about the connection you have with your teammates in the locker room? There's a video online of you addressing the whole team. Talk about your relationship and your desire to continue this journey with them.
Yes, we look forward to continuing our journey. We have good energy internally, but we also have to speak about those external challenges. We have to voice these issues because we can't always keep them to ourselves. Some people don't like us, but we don't think that's right.
I think we have good energy—positive energy—in the locker room. We'll continue. Let's see what happens tomorrow.
One last question. Considering everything you've been through, what would it mean for Iranian football to reach the knockout stage?
Friend, honestly, we came here to make history. That is our goal. We've done everything for it.
I don't know what else I can say. We'll just wait for tomorrow. If our dream comes true, thank God. If not, I think we can still be proud of our performance and our players. Given everything we've done in these three games, we are proud. Let's see what happens.
A message to FIFA.
FIFA is doing its best. We know they also have problems they can't solve.
But football should not be part of politics. It should not. This is what we want; this is the message we want to leave. That's it.
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Loccioprsy
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FIFA is a bunch of jokers who just obey US
AFerijUd7214
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The Y