To add security measures, a limited protest, and a report on the rejection of a court request

Englewood, California, June 15 (Reuters Sports Service) - Iran's national football team is set to play its first match of this year's World Cup in Los Angeles on Monday local time, amid expectations that the city's large Iranian community will stage protests against the government in Tehran and the U.S. war.

The team arrived in the United States for the first time in this edition of the World Cup on Sunday, coming from their training camp in Tijuana, Mexico, and landed in Los Angeles just before the announcement of an agreement to end the war between the United States and Iran.

The Iranian national team is scheduled to face its New Zealand counterpart in Group G at 6 pm local time (0100 GMT).

Controversy arose over Iran's participation in the tournament against the backdrop of the war that began last February when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran.

This came after protests across Iran in January, in which thousands of people were killed in a bloody government crackdown.

In the past few weeks, the Iranian national team moved its training camp from Arizona to Mexico, while the Islamic Republic's football federation complained that not all members of the delegation had received visas to enter the United States, and that tickets allocated to its fans had been withdrawn.

In Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran, many of whose members fled the country after the Islamic Revolution, American football fans of Iranian descent say their feelings are mixed: excitement to see the team in the world's biggest tournament, anger at Tehran's crackdown on protesters, and concern about Washington's bombing campaign.

* Controversy over science

Authorities tightened security measures in Englewood on Monday morning near the stadium where the match is being held, closing several adjacent roads and deploying police patrols in the area.

Around 12 protesters gathered outside the stadium, but larger demonstrations are expected later. Some members of the community said they would watch the match on television, fearing disturbances at the stadium or that their presence would be interpreted as support for the Iranian government.

"How can they go and cheer for a team that comes with the flag of the Islamic Republic and the national anthem?" Kourosh Krommarsi said during a small demonstration held outside the team's hotel on Sunday.

Others indicated that they would attend the match and would try to bring in protest symbols, including the pre-revolutionary Iranian flag, which has the same colors as the current official flag but with a different emblem featuring a lion and the sun.

This sets the stage for a potential clash with security and freedom of expression rights in the United States.

Iran threatened to halt the games if unofficial flags were brought in or slogans were chanted, while a California non-profit organization filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent any restrictions . However, The Athletic reported that the lawsuit was dismissed on Monday at a court hearing, quoting the judge as saying that the stadium is not a public place and that imposing such a last-minute change could harm the workers.

When asked about the matter, FIFA stated that it prohibits flags or clothing with political connotations. However, it did not comment specifically on its approach to pre-revolutionary Iran's flag.