Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the country's national team that he may travel to Germany if it advances from the opening round of the World Cup.

"If you make it to the second round, then I would try to join you," Ahmadinejad told team members at Saturday's farewell ceremony for the players, who presented him with a national team shirt bearing the number 24 and his name.

Earlier Saturday, Mohammed Dadkan, head of Iran's Football Federation, said the president was interested in attending matches in the second round or beyond.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an interview with the Bild am Sonntag weekly released Saturday before Ahmadinejad's comments, said she did not think the Iranian president would attend.

Asked why not, she said only: "That is not my area of expertise."

In a recent interview with Germany's leading news weekly Der Spiegel, Ahmadinejad left open the possibility of traveling to Germany to watch the Iranians. They are in Group D with Mexico, Portugal and Angola, so getting one of the top two spots to advance will be difficult.

On Thursday, a group of European Parliament members sought an indefinite EU travel ban on Ahmadinejad in light of his calls for Israel's destruction and his questioning of the Holocaust. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly questioned Israel's right to exist.

The group also asked FIFA to prevent Ahmadinejad from going to Germany.