Mexican fans rally behind Iran

Sporting his Mexico team jersey, soccer fan Alan Romero got up at 4 am on Sunday to drive from Tijuana to Los Angeles, just so he could cheer for Iran in its World Cup match against Belgium.

The 35-year-old is one of hundreds of Mexican supporters who went to SoFi Stadium to watch a match that, on first glance, had nothing to do with them.

Yet, the crowd leapt with joy when Iran's Team Melli nearly scored against Belgium's Red Devils, before the referree disallowed the goal for being offside -- earning a chorus of whistles.

"Our second team for this World Cup is Iran," Romero told AFP, taking pride in Tijuana managing to host the Iranian team at the last minute, after a series of off-field matters kept them from their US-based training camp.

With the United States and Israel's war against Iran as a backdrop, the Persian squad has voiced complaints of unfair treatment over US visas, travel times and equity with all the teams who have earned their spot in FIFA's vaunted global tournament.

Iran's team moved its base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana after a dozen of its staff members had their US visas denied.

The tensions have created an unexpected solidarity between Mexicans and Iranians -- a football friendship already evident during Iran's first match against New Zealand, also held in Los Angeles.

Unbelievable support

In Los Angeles, a city steeped in Mexican culture, a large portion of the crowd cheered for Iran during their match.

The support was so noticable that Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi offered his thanks to Mexican fans.

"We're looking forward to the next two matches, we hope they'll keep supporting us this way," he said after the game.

"The support from the Mexican fans has been unbelievable," said Iranian American YouTuber Art Eftekhari, who has a channel devoted to the Iranian national team.

The 44-year-old said their support helps make up for all the controversies surrounding Team Melli. AFP