ANTALYA — Iran beat The Gambia 3-1 in a friendly match in Antalya, Turkey, on Friday. The team trailed 1-0 at half-time before scoring three goals in a 20-minute span in the second half.

Iranian winger Mohammad Mohebbi said the team had been fatigued from intense training but managed to recover during the match. "We had challenging practices every day. The team knows that we played this game while being tired, but thank God we were able to make up for it in the second half," Mohebbi said. He added that African opponents present unique challenges, stating, "It is always hard playing African teams as they are physically well-prepared." Mohebbi plays for Russian club Rostov.

Mehdi Taremi, who plays for Greek club Olympiacos, scored one of Iran’s three second-half goals. The victory came as the team prepared for the FIFA World Cup, which runs from 11 June to 19 July across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Despite having all three group stage matches scheduled in the U.S., Iran has relocated its World Cup base camp to Tijuana, Mexico. Iranian players and officials were still waiting for U.S. visas to enter the country for the tournament. Iran has asked FIFA to clarify when the visas will be issued.

Mahdi Mohammad Nabi, Iran's football federation official and team coordinator, said the team was focusing on preparation despite logistical uncertainties. "We try to dedicate our attention to practising and things like that. We don't allow our players to enter these distracting conversations. Their focus is on technical stuff," Nabi said. He added that it is not Iran's first World Cup and they were trying to "deal with challenges professionally."

The U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday that President Donald Trump had made it clear the Iranian team was welcome to participate in the tournament. Iran’s first World Cup game is against New Zealand in Inglewood, California, on 15 June. The team is scheduled to play another friendly against Mali in Antalya next Thursday.