WHAT A START!

Havertz races through and smashes one into the roof of the net 💥

🔵 0-1 🔴 (6) pic.twitter.com/TaiRbrDgxD

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 30, 2026

🇫🇷🚨 DEMBELE SCORES THE PENALTY!!!

1-1!!! pic.twitter.com/EGDxer73ge

— Rising Stars XI (@RisingStarXI) May 30, 2026

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A post shared by ایران اینترنشنال ورزشی (@iranintlsport)

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A post shared by ایران اینترنشنال ورزشی (@iranintlsport)

Los Angeles is preparing to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup next month in unprecedented circumstances.

As the U.S. war in Iran drags on, the United States is the first host nation in World Cup history to be at war with a participating country. And the Iran men’s team is scheduled to play two of its matches in Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian population outside of Iran.

Iran's participation in the tournament has been in question since the U.S. and Israel launched a bombing campaign against the country in late February. Whether they show up or not won't be settled until the team arrives in the U.S. to play. They were scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona ahead of the tournament, but they've now re-routed to a facility in Tijuana, Mexico. FIFA confirmed the move on Monday.

Iran's first match is June 15 at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand. In the meantime, Iranians in Los Angeles are anticipating the coming tournament with complicated feelings.

" Sports is supposed to displace war. It's not supposed to be war," said Kevan Harris, a sociologist at UCLA who studies the Iranian diaspora. "Teams fighting it out when a war is going on, it has a flavor that's very difficult to process. Do I want them to win? Do I want them to lose? I don't know. "

Los Angeles County is home to about 166,000 Iranian-Americans, according to the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies's Iranian Diaspora Dashboard. Demonstrations against the government inside Iran in December and January and the killing of thousands of demonstrators there led to protests against the Iranian state in Los Angeles. Then came the war, which also brought people to the streets, but has sparked divided opinions within L.A.’s Iranian communities.

For some, those dynamics and their opinions about the Iranian government are inextricable from the coming World Cup. For others, it's just about the soccer.

Mixed feelings for soccer players in LA

In Woodland Hills, a group of Iranian-Americans from around Los Angeles play soccer together on Sundays in an adult league, under the team name Arya FC. On a recent weekend, many players said they were excited for the World Cup, and most said they'd root for Iran's team, known as Team Melli.

"It's a lot going on in Iran right now, and there are a lot of mixed emotions," said Bobby Riahi, an Arya FC player who said he was going to a World Cup match and would support Iran. "You can't be a soccer fan and not be excited about the World Cup. Am I excited about seeing my national team? I have mixed feelings this year."

FIFA threatened with legal action for pre-revolutionary Iran flag World Cup ban

An organization constructed to fight for the rights of Iranian people is demanding FIFA lift its ban on pre-revolutionary Iranian imagery from this year’s World Cup — and it’s threatening legal action if the soccer giant balks.

The Institute for Voices of Liberty, a non-profit that describes itself as a group “dedicated to reflecting the aspirations of the Iranian people,” said in a statement on its Instagram page last week that it’s “sent a Demand to Retract and Cease Enforcement letter to FIFA” asking for the “immediate removal of any rule, policy, or restriction that bans the peaceful display of the Lion & Sun flag at World Cup events hosted on American soil.”

If it doesn’t happen, iVOL stated it’s “prepared to pursue all necessary legal remedies to defend this right and ensure that freedom of expression is upheld during the World Cup.”

FIFA, according to a report from The Athletic, has barred potential World Cup-goers from bringing flags and apparel that contains pre-revolutionary Iran imagery to stadiums this summer.

FIFA has reportedly claimed the symbolism violates its code of conduct, which states “banners, flags, fliers, apparel and other paraphernalia, that are of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature” will not be permitted at venues.

The imagery, which features a lion holding a sword and a sun, was used prior to the 1980 Islamic Revolution, and Emel Karsaz, an Iranian living in Los Angeles, told The California Post last week it’s important for those who oppose the IRGC to have the ability to have it present.

Karsaz added that she’s anticipating FIFA’s ban will bring protestors and the flags to World Cup stadiums next month en masse.

“I’m sure it’s going to make everyone so angry that I’ll bet you anything there’s going to be a huge protest,” she said.

The World Cup will take place beginning in mid-June in Canada, Mexico and the United States. Iran is slated to play its opening two group stage matches at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles before it heads to Lumen Field in Seattle for its third contest.