FIFA is caught between Iran and a hard place.
Tehran’s football federation has urged the world governing body to eject the U.S. from the 2026 World Cup, while America hammers Iran with missile strikes.
The U.S. is co-hosting the premier football tournament this summer along with Canada and Mexico, and the U.S.-Israeli strikes that decapitated Tehran’s leadership have thrown Iran’s participation into doubt.
Trump this week suggested it was not “appropriate” for the Iranian team to attend for their “own life and safety,” not long after FIFA President Gianni Infantino assured people that Trump had said it was “welcome to compete in the tournament.”
“Certainly, no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that could be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event,” the association wrote in an Instagram story addressed to Infantino.
Even before the war began, Iranian football representatives didn’t attend last year’s World Cup draw in Washington D.C. over a visa spat with the U.S. administration.
Iran qualified for the tournament in March 2025. If it attends the World Cup, Iran will face Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in the group stage, in matches played in Los Angeles and Seattle.