War with the United States draws attention to Iran in Group G

For now, Iran is taking part in the World Cup despite the conflict with the United States.

Drawn with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt in Group G, Iran's participation is certainly fraught. In March, Iran's embassy in Mexico City said the country was negotiating with FIFA to move the nation's three group-stage matches to Mexico, though the global soccer body insisted the games will go ahead as scheduled.

Even before the Iran war, there was controversy with one match in Group G. Iran is set to play Egypt in Seattle on June 26, the same weekend as Pride, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community.

Both nations complained to FIFA about the “Pride Match” designation, on religious and cultural grounds. Gay and lesbian individuals in Iran face harsh penalties, including the death penalty.

Iran has qualified for four consecutive World Cups and seven overall, but Team Melli has never advanced out of the group stage. Currently ranked No. 21 in the world and coached by former player Amir Ghalenoei, Iran dropped only one match in Asian qualifying.

The team is captained by striker Mehdi Taremi, who has scored 57 goals in 102 games for the national team. He currently plays for the Greek club Olympiacos after stints with Porto and Inter Milan. Midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh plays professionally in Belgium.

Before a friendly against Nigeria in March, Iranian players held small pink and purple backpacks during the national anthem to honor the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school on Feb. 28. Evidence suggests it was a U.S. missile.

Iran's planned training camp is in Tucson, Arizona, and the team opens the World Cup against New Zealand in Inglewood, next to Los Angeles.

This will be Belgium's 15th World Cup appearance. The team's best result was third place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, losing in the semifinals to eventual champion France. Belgium failed to advance from its group in 2022.

Belgium has a rising star in Jeremy Doku, who plays for Manchester City, as well as veteran Kevin De Bruyne, who plays for Napoli. De Bruyne, who recently returned from a thigh injury, has 36 goals in 117 games for the national team and will be playing in his fourth World Cup. Striker Romelu Lukaku has been sidelined for months with a hamstring injury and his status for the World Cup is unclear.

Belgium routed the United States 5-2 on American soil in March and is easily the strongest team in Group G.

Coached by by Rudi Garcia, Belgium opens the World Cup on June 15 against Egypt in Seattle.

Egypt has never won a World Cup match in any of its three appearances. The most recent was in 2018, when all eyes were on captain Mohamed Salah, but he missed the first match because of a shoulder injury he sustained in the Champions League final.

The team is coached by Hossam Hassan, who was Egypt’s all-time leading scorer with 69 career goals.

There will be attention on Salah again at this World Cup because he has announced he's leaving Liverpool after nine seasons. There will no doubt be speculation about where he’ll take his club career in the run-up to the tournament.

Egypt held Spain to a scoreless draw in March that was marred by anti-Muslim chants by some in the crowd. Salah did not play in the match because of a minor muscle injury he picked up during Liverpool's Champions League game against Galatasaray.

New Zealand is the lowest ranked team in the group at No. 85. The All Whites are coached by Darren Bazeley, who has held the job since 2022.

This is the third time that New Zealand has qualified for the World Cup, following appearances in 1982 and 2010. The team has never advanced out of the group stage.

Captain Chris Wood has 45 goals for New Zealand. But he recently missed five months with club team Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League because of injury and was working his way back to fitness ahead of the World Cup.

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FILE - New Zealand's Chris Wood, left, and Costa Rica's Oscar Duarte fightduring the World Cup 2022 qualifying play-off soccer match between New Zealand and Costa Rica in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Tuesday, June 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed, File)

FILE - Egypt's Mohamed Salah celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 soccer match between Egypt and Benin in Agadir, Morocco, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy, File)

FILE - Iran's Mehdi Taremi shoots a penalty kick to score his side's second goal during a friendly soccer match between Iran and Costa Rica, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel, File)

FILE - Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne gestures after missing a chance during a round of sixteen match between France and Belgium at the Euro 2024 soccer tournament in Dusseldorf, Germany, Monday, July 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)

FILE - Iran's coach Amir Ghalenoei, center, and Iran's Football Federation Vice President Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, left, hold pictures of children allegedly killed in a U.S. and Israel strikes in Iran, before an international friendly soccer match between Iran and Costa Rica, in Antalya, southern Turkey, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Riza Ozel, File)

BAMENDA, Cameroon (AP) — Caro Bih says she was once kidnapped, chained and held for ransom by the separatist fighters who have clashed for years with government soldiers in parts of Cameroon. Several relatives have been killed, jailed or abducted. Her family home was razed.

Now she says her hopes for peace rest with Pope Leo XIV.

She is among millions in Cameroon anticipating his arrival on Wednesday as part of his four-nation Africa tour. It comes as the Central African nation is still reeling from a disputed presidential election that left dozens dead as the world’s oldest president, 93-year-old Paul Biya, extended his long rule.

The papal visit with its call for peace is expected to highlight the separatist conflict in Cameroon's two Anglophone regions. Thousands of people have been killed in what humanitarian groups call one of the world’s most neglected conflicts.

The separatists said Tuesday they will pause fighting for three days to allow safe travel for the pope, civilians and dignitaries.

Officials have framed Leo's visit as a moment of national unity for the country, which is ruled by Francophone authorities and divided along ethnic lines.

“We have been praying ceaselessly for the conflict to end, to no avail,” said Bih, a 52-year-old mother of six and a nurse by training. She spoke to The Associated Press from Bamenda, the epicenter of the violence. “We want the pope to intercede for us. I strongly believe his coming will help heal my wounds.”

Cameroon’s western regions have been plagued by fighting since English-speaking separatists launched a rebellion in 2017 with the stated goal of breaking away from the French-speaking majority and establishing an independent state.

The pope will preside over a peace meeting on Thursday in Bamenda with community leaders and celebrate Mass at the local airport.

Critics of the government worry the pope's visit will be seen as an endorsement of the Biya administration, which has been accused of committing abuses in the conflict and not being open to dialogue.

“I would caution the pope against allowing the regime to exploit his presence to mask the pain of profound historical injustices with empty appeals to peace and unity,” said Benjamin Akih, a U.S.-based Cameroonian activist and member of the Council for the Sovereignty of Cameroon, a civil society group.

Eric Chinje, who leads the Project Cameroon diaspora democracy group, said the pope might steer clear of trying to admonish those determined to stay in power at all costs, referring to Biya’s long rule.

“The visit has more to do with the pope’s global evangelical mission than with the fate and future of Cameroon,” Chinje said.

The Rev. John Berinyuy Tatah, a Catholic priest, was kidnapped by separatists in November alongside five fellow clergy and held two weeks in the bush, “cut off from the world.”

He said he believes the pope will sow a seed that could heal Cameroon if nurtured.

“The cry of every Cameroonian is for the pope to help us to mediate for dialogue in the ongoing crisis,” said Tatah, who plans to attend a pope-led Mass.

Cameroon also battles Boko Haram extremists who carry out attacks from across the border with Nigeria, often targeting military posts and villages.

More than 3.3 million people affected by conflict in Cameroon are struggling to find enough food, with families skipping meals, selling livestock or taking on debt to survive, according to the U.N.'s World Food Program.

“My hope is that the pope touches the soft spot of our collective wounds,” said Yeeika Desmond Nangsinyuy, a spoken-word artist who uses his art to speak out against violence.

Nangsinyuy said he was abducted by separatists in 2024 and told to stop his performances. But he never did.

“I want him to speak directly to the pain of families torn apart by conflict, and to inspire renewed hope that peace is possible,” he said of Leo.

The separatist fighting has upended communities.

Bih said only two of her children remain in school. One lives with a friend to reduce the burden of taking care of them all. Others work on the farm or at construction sites, or wash people’s clothes to help support the family.

Including money from the vegetables she cultivates and sells, the family's monthly income is the equivalent of about $53, barely enough to feed them.

Bih in 2024 abandoned physiotherapy and medicines for a stroke she suffered as she fled conflict multiple times. She relies on herbal remedies.

“I had dreamt of seeing my children become doctors, magistrates and so on,” she said quietly. “Now their future is uncertain.”

The children's father, 60-year-old Ngwa Manases, is separated from her and also affected by the fighting. He was forced to quit his job as a Catholic missionary teacher because of the insecurity.

Their 9-year-old daughter, Lydiane, had to drop out of school to help take care of the other children.

“I miss school,” the girl said. She had wanted to become an accountant.

Bih said she hopes the pope’s visit will change all their lives.

“We believe he will be a turning point,” she said.

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Caro Bih's family watches television in their living room in Bamenda, Cameroon, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal)

Caro Bih and her family pose for a photo in their living room in Bamenda, Cameroon, Monday, April 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal)

Rev. John Berinyuy Tatah, auxiliary Bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese, poses for a portrait in Bamenda, Cameroon, Sunday, April 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal)