Iran are yet to officially announce whether they will compete in this summer’s World Cup, with their sports minister saying they would not travel to the USA for the competition
FIFA have turned down Mexico’s proposal to host Iran’s World Cup fixtures shortly after US President Donald Trump suggested the Middle Eastern nation shouldn’t participate.
The intensifying conflict between the USA and Israel versus Iran is displaying no signs of subsiding. Shortly after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike, the country’s sports minister hinted they wouldn’t take part in this summer’s tournament across the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Nevertheless, no formal decision has been reached regarding the Middle Eastern nation’s involvement at the World Cup, with FIFA maintaining they are still anticipated to play two of their group fixtures in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Yet with tensions between Iran and the USA mounting, Mexico reportedly proposed to host the Iranians for their matches.
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This request is understood to have been refused by FIFA. The Iranian Football Association recently stated they were in discussions to relocate their fixtures to the country.
This proposal followed Trump’s recent Truth Social post, where he wrote: “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J TRUMP.”
It remains unclear whether Trump was referring to the safety of Iranian players within Iran or in the USA, reports the Mirror. Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian FA, believes the US president had stated he could not guarantee the players’ security.
He posted on X: “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America. We are negotiating with Fifa to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico.”
Following their rejected request to play in Mexico, FIFA released a further statement, confirming Iran would be welcomed to compete in the USA. They declared: “FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced.”
Iran are set to face New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, with both fixtures scheduled for LA. Their concluding match is arranged for June 26 in Seattle against Egypt.
FIFA does possess the authority to determine which nation would replace Iran, should they choose to withdraw from the tournament. Iraq and the United Arab Emirates represent the next highest-ranked countries from the Asian Football Confederation who have yet to secure qualification for the competition.
Windsor John, the chief of the Asian Football Confederation, recently asserted that Iran are still anticipated to travel to the USA for the tournament. When probed on the matter in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, he stated: “It’s a very emotional moment.
“Everybody’s saying a lot of things. At the end of the day, it’s the federation who should decide if they’re playing, and as of today, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup.
“They are our member, we want them to play. You know, they qualified … so we hope that they will solve their issues, whatever it is, and be able to participate.”