Mexican fans gathered in Tijuana on Tuesday to see off Irans national soccer team, cheering the players and collecting autographs before the squad left the city following its elimination from the World Cup.

Mexican fans gathered in Tijuana on Tuesday to see off Irans national soccer team, cheering the players and collecting autographs before the squad left the city following its elimination from the World Cup.We love the people of Mexico. We love Tijuana. But as professional players, professional competition, its not right, Iranian national team captain Mehdi Taremi told reporters last week. Its a disaster World Cup; a disaster, he added.The Iranian squad had originally planned to base itself in Tucson, Arizona, during the tournament but relocated to Mexico in late May after the United States barred the team from staying in the country and denied visas to several members of the Iranian delegation.A Mexican fan, Marta Palacios, said Tijuana had welcomed the team with affection and that she felt sadness over what she described as what had happened to them in the United StatesSource: @trtworld on X/Twitter