At the World Cup, Iran's national team arrives in Mexico amid visa processing issues, a US travel ban, and the shadow of war that has left fans at home isolated Saman, a professional runner and coach born in the late 1970s, recently invited a few friends over to his home in Tehran to watch the 2026 World Cup. They welcomed the idea, but two of them added a jarring caveat: they would come, but they preferred not to watch Iran's matches together.