Iran coach demands Gianni Infantino act after accusing USA of treating team unfairly at World Cup

Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei has called on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to take a firmer stance against the United States after claiming his side have endured unfair treatment throughout the World Cup.

The Iranian manager spoke out after his team's dramatic 1-1 draw with Egypt in Seattle, a result that leaves their hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in history dependent on other results.

Iran came agonisingly close to securing qualification themselves.

Shoja Khalilzadeh thought he had won the match deep into stoppage time, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside following a lengthy VAR review.

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Moments later, Saeid Ezatolah rattled the crossbar with a header as Iran were denied what would have been a famous victory.

Yet Ghalenoei's frustrations extended far beyond events on the pitch.

Iran have spent much of the tournament battling logistical difficulties after being forced to relocate their training camp to Tijuana in Mexico.

Eleven senior members of the delegation were denied entry visas to the United States, while the squad have repeatedly complained about travel arrangements and preparation time.

Infantino visited Iran's dressing room after their opening draw with New Zealand and attempted to reassure players by telling them they were "stronger than everything".

However, Ghalenoei believes FIFA must now do more to ensure teams are treated equally at future tournaments.

"I know Mr Infantino has tried his best to minimise the problems as much as possible but it was the host that wasn't very good to us," he said.

"I urge FIFA to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future.

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"I hope Mr Infantino will actually stand up to such behaviour."

The Iran coach has previously labelled his side the "most oppressed" team competing at the World Cup and once again praised his players for overcoming significant obstacles.

"To my players and the team, I want to say to them I'm proud of them," he said.

"What these young people, these players have done, it should be written in history because the host country treated us very unfairly.

"Had the host country allowed us to arrive two weeks earlier, we would have been more prepared.

"They were reasonable, rational demands.

"We would have been able to recover and be in better shape physically and mentally however they deprived us of that justice."

Ghalenoei also criticised travel arrangements after the Egypt match, revealing his squad were due to land back in Tijuana at around 3am local time after being refused permission to remain in Seattle.

"When you play in a match, physically, scientifically, our bodies are at a low and when you suddenly go on a flight, that actually postpones your recovery," he said.

"This is the third time they are doing this to us.

"Their behaviour towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that."

Captain Mehdi Taremi echoed those concerns and questioned why visa issues affecting members of the delegation remain unresolved despite assurances from FIFA.

Meanwhile, Egypt boss Hossam Hassan moved to ease fears over Mohamed Salah after the forward was substituted shortly before the hour mark.

"If a player asks to be substituted, it means he felt something," Hassan said.

"I talked to Salah and he said he's going to be OK and it's not a big injury.

"I think he will be back."

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