Recovery is paramount - essential - for any athlete and it has to be immediate. To have these players fly in and out, right after exerting so much pressure on their bodies, not only helps dismantle their athletic ability but also is psychological warfare.
They are playing in a country that killed thousands of their fellow Iranians, in a city filled with Iranians who want their country bombed even more, and are forced to constantly travel because of the U.S. government's clear strategy to weaken them.
They played against the lowest ranked team in the world cup - NZ - and you could see how the Iranians were not playing to their actual ability (though their goals were fantastic). I hope they're able to overcome these deliberately created phyiscal and mental obstacles, but its hard to see how they will.
Iran v. New Zealand ended around 8pm here in Los Angeles.
At 10:07pm, Iran players were on a bus bound for the airport, where they'd fly back to Tijuana. World Cup organizers wouldn't let them stay and recover.
“Everything is like a disaster for us," Mehdi Taremi said.