Gianni Infantino attends as Iran beat Costa Rica 5-0

The FIFA president was a spectator for Iran’s match in Turkey.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Tuesday insisted that Iran will be at the World Cup despite the conflict between the country and the United States as he attended their 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica.

Infantino was a spectator at the game in Turkey, which saw Iran’s players hold pictures of some of the victims of US and Israeli airstrikes during the national anthems.

Iran is scheduled to play all of their group games in the USA, though the Iranian Football Federation has requested for those contests to be moved to Mexico.

But speaking during half-time of Iran’s emphatic victory, Infantino told AFP: “Iran will be at the World Cup. That’s why we’re here. We’re delighted because they’re a very, very strong team, I’m very happy.

“I’ve seen the team, I’ve spoken to the players and the coach, so everything is fine.”

Infantino added that Iran’s matches “will be played where they are supposed to be, according to the draw.”

Mehdi Taremi scored twice and provided an assist as Iran eased to victory.

Netherlands settle for draw

Netherlands were held to a 1-1 draw by Ecuador in their penultimate friendly before they head to the World Cup.

The Oranje claimed an impressive 2-1 win over Norway last week but were frustrated by the South Americans despite taking a second-minute lead through a Willian Pacho own goal.

But the game changed when Denzel Dumfries brought down Gonzalo Plata as the last defender was promptly shown a red card.

Plata then won a penalty as he was fouled by Netherlands goalkeeper Mark Flekken, who had no answer to Enner Valencia’s spot-kick.

Ecuador failed to take further advantage of their superior numbers, though draws with Morocco and Netherlands represent a solid international break for La Tri.

Netherlands will face Algeria at De Kuip in June in their farewell game before heading to North America.

Morocco, semi-finalists at the World Cup in 2022, were 2-1 winners over Paraguay thanks to goals from Bilal El Khannouss and Neil El Aynaoui.

Senegal, who were stripped of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title this month amid the continued fallout from their controversial final with Morocco, were 3-1 winners over Gambia, but there was defeat for another African participant at this summer’s World Cup.

South Africa suffered a 2-1 loss to Panama in the second meeting in the space of five days between the two sides. The first match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Marcel Sabitzer scored the only goal of the game as Austria beat South Korea 1-0, while their neighbours Switzerland drew 0-0 with Norway.