FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with US President Donald Trump to discuss the participation of Iran in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 in USA, Mexico and Canada. Iranian Football have threatened to boycott the tournament amid the ongoing US-Israel-Iran War. Despite that, Infantino reveals that Trump is welcome to the idea of Iran competing in all their games at the tournament in June.
"We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States," Infantino said in an Instagram post.
Infantino believes that an event like the FIFA World Cup could 'bring people together' and is what the world needs right now.
"We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World," he added.
Iran qualified by virtue of topping its Asian qualifying group. The Asian nation were drawn in Group G, alongside New Zealand, Egypt, and Belgium. With just three months before the tournament, Iran have threatened to pull out of the competition in the USA citing the ongoing US-Iran-Israel war.
What happens if Iran boycott FIFA World Cup 2026?
If Iran pull out of the tournament in advance, then FIFA can bring in a replacement. A replacement team would be a team from the same confederation (AFC in this case).
In the current scenario, Iraq and UAE could benefit from Iran's boycott. Iraq are set to compete in the AFC path’s intercontinental play-off, putting them next in line if Iran’s direct spot becomes vacant. Iraq could still qualify if Iran continue to feature, if they win that playoff berth. In that case, the UAE are another strong contender to take Iran’s spot because they were the highest-ranked AFC team that narrowly missed qualification after losing to Iraq in the qualifying play-offs.
