Body Found Near Stadium Where Iran Trains for World Cup.

Mexican authorities are investigating how a corpse ended up outside a stadium in the border city of Tijuana, where Iran’s national team has been training for its upcoming World Cup match against New Zealand, according to officials. The body was found on Friday in a parking lot across from Tijuana’s Estadio Caliente stadium, inside a bag in the trunk of a gray vehicle that was opened by police because of its pungent smell.

Iran’s national squad is using Tijuana as its base during the World Cup due to visa delays and travel restrictions imposed on the team’s administrative staff and coaches. The team will travel to Los Angeles next week for its first group-stage match on June 15 against New Zealand’s All Whites at So Fi Stadium in Inglewood. Iran was initially slated to train in Tucson, Arizona, but after the Iran war broke out in late February, the team moved its base to Mexico over security concerns. In March, Iran unsuccessfully tried to move its group games from the U.S. Along with New Zealand, Iran faces Belgium on June 21, also at So Fi Stadium, and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

Tijuana is one of Mexico’s 10 most violent cities, according to the Citizen’s Council for Public Security, a Mexican think tank that compiles an annual ranking of murder rates. Located along Mexico’s Pacific coast next to the U.S. , the area has long been used by criminal groups to smuggle drugs and has recently hosted thousands of migrants denied entry into the United States. Last year, the city government recorded 1,219 homicides in a city of more than 2.3 million residents, noting a 32% reduction from the number of murders recorded in 2024.