Iran star addresses fans' booing national anthem ahead of Belgium World Cup game

Alireza Jahanbakhsh opened up about the Iranian National Team's reaction to their anthem being booed during the World Cup following Sunday's remarkable draw against Belgium.

Across the two matches Iran has played at Los Angeles Stadium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the national anthem has drawn a divided response from the crowd. During the opening fixture against New Zealand, which also ended in a tie, supporters delivered a mixture of jeers and cheers, with the atmosphere softening toward the anthem's conclusion.

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Against Belgium, however, the reaction was considerably more hostile, as a wave of boos cascaded from the stands, appearing to intensify as the anthem played on. Following the 0-0 draw, Jahanbakhsh shed light on what he and his teammates were experiencing as the jeers rang out.

"We take both. I think there are good days, bad days for every team, and also, like I said, we play for all the Iranians in Iran, outside Iran, with whatever ideology, whatever preferences they have, and we make sure to make them happy, because I'm sure at the end of the day, they love Team Mali from the heart, and we respect them all," Jahanbakhsh told reporters after the match, as per The Mirror US.

"And I think the most important thing we can do as a team is to perform well, to make sure we put our heart on the pitch, and to do everything to make them happy.

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"And for the rest, I think that's something we have to respect people, whatever idea they have, and like I said, the best thing we can do is to play football, and hopefully we can do it in the best way possible."

Following draws against New Zealand and Belgium, the focus has shifted to their final group game against Egypt. Should Iran secure all three points, they would progress to the Round of 32, a historic achievement in its own right.

Despite the significant opportunity before them, Jahanbakhsh and his teammates are keeping their feet on the ground and aim to make the Iranian people proud, irrespective of which side they're backing. "Yeah, a hundred percent, like I said, this is, I think this is the spirit we have in the team," he said, addressing the current opportunity facing Iran.

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"Yeah, the situation hasn't been the best, but like we don't want to keep repeating that because I think everyone is aware of that. But yeah, we go game by game.

"This today was an amazing performance, but I think we cannot let down the next game against Egypt. We know how important that is. Making history, every World Cup, last World Cup, we tried to do the best thing, but very last minute we couldn't do it.

"But now I think the most important thing is like we go to recover well to make sure that we are ready for the next game and do the same energy, same spirit to the game against Egypt and hopefully make the best performance for our people back home. We know they deserve a lot.

"Even the people who came to the stadium today with the different ideas, different ideology, different culture from different cities in Iran coming from. So that's bringing people together, the united that is. And on top of that, like I said, I think that makes us stronger and live the result to the gut."

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Iran will face Egypt at Seattle Stadium on Friday in their final Group G fixture.