Other members of the team have avoided discussion of politics in public so far.

Players Karim Ansarifard and Morteza Pouraliganji refused to answer questions on Friday about solidarity with women in Iran. On Thursday, midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who plays for Dutch club Feyenoord, suggested such questions were a ploy to distract the team.

However, Bayer Leverkusen striker Sardar Azmoun was selected for the team despite having publicy supported the protests in the past.

Some activists have taken a stand against the national team for not doing enough, and called on Iranians to gather at main squares of cities and towns across Iran on Monday night.

A post on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, said: “No matter what result the hated team of the Islamic Republic gets, we will gather in the streets to celebrate the defeat of the Islamic Republic’s team while chanting revolutionary slogans.”

A banner of Iran’s national team was set on fire in Tehran, videos on social media showed.

Hajsafi said it was undeniable the situation was not good and he hoped the national team could beat England in Monday’s Group B opener and bring some happiness to the people.

“Whatever we have is from them and we have to fight, we have to perform the best we can and score goals and represent the people,” he said.

“I hope conditions change as to expectations of the people.”