US President Donald Trump insists he ‘does not care’ whether Iran play at the World Cup this summer amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Israeli and American strikes have bombarded Iran over the last five days, with retaliatory attacks fired back at US-allied states in the Gulf.
The US are co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, with Trump at the forefront of publicity for the tournament, closely aligned with FIFA president Gianni Infantino – who awarded him the ‘FIFA Peace Prize’ three months ago.
Iran have qualified for their fourth successive World Cup but could well boycott it. When asked for his thoughts on the matter, Trump told Politico: ‘I really don’t care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.’
If Iran do pull out, Iraq and the UAE are the most likely beneficiaries. Iraq will qualify if they win an intercontinental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname, scheduled to be played on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.
Iraq qualifying is likely to mean the UAE would take Iran’s spot as the next highest-ranked Asian side. If Iraq lose the play-off, they could have the security of being next in line should Iran pull out.
Donald Trump, pictured picking up his peace award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino last December, insists he ‘does not care’ if Iran play at the World Cup
Head of the Iranian FA, Mehdi Taj, recently said: ‘It is far from our expectations that we can look at the World Cup with hope.’
He added that a decision over the team’s participation would be made by the country’s sports officials.
FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom suggested the possibility of withdrawal had already been discussed, saying: ‘We had a meeting… and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world.
‘Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.’
Iran are due to play New Zealand and Belgium in LA before their last group game against Egypt in Seattle.
Trump is expected to be front and centre for the World Cup, as he was for the Club World Cup last summer, and was brought on stage for the draw in Washington DC last December when he was given a medal, winning the inaugural ‘FIFA Peace Prize’.
If Iran was to withdraw, the country could be replaced by another Asian nation.
Article 6 of the regulations for the 2026 World Cup says that ‘if a participating member association withdraws… as a result of force majeure,’ FIFA ‘shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary.’
If a team withdraws or is excluded from the competition, FIFA therefore has the freedom to take whatever decision it sees fit and ‘may decide to replace the participating member association in question with another association.’
Smoke rises following an explosion from a strike near Azadi in Iran as conflict rages on
At the moment eight Asian teams have qualified for the first World Cup to feature 48 teams in total.
It is now less than 100 days until the World Cup starts and it remains to be seen how long the conflict between the US and Iran will continue.
Trump believes the fighting will take place for around another month, saying: ‘It’s always been a four-week process. We figured it will be four weeks or so. It’s always been about a four-week process so – as strong as it is, it’s a big country, it’ll take four weeks – or less.’
There were further strikes on Iran overnight after their retaliatory attacks on US bases including a CIA station at the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
The US Consulate in Dubai was also rocked by a drone strike on Tuesday and Israeli military said it has conducted a series of attacks across Iran’s capital targeting its security forces after it previously targeted Iranian nuclear facilities.
Israel has launched fresh strikes on Iran and Lebanon, while Iran’s Guards said they had sealed off one of the world’s most vital shipping routes for energy.
Iran might pull out of the World Cup but no decision has been made by their FA
Governments across the world are scrambling to evacuate citizens stranded in the Middle East.
With global energy prices already on the rise over the expanding war, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it has ‘complete control’ of the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial chokepoint into the Gulf.
But Trump said the US had ‘knocked out’ Iran’s navy, along with its air force and radar systems, and that the US Navy was ready to escort tankers through the waterway through which one-fifth of global seaborne oil pass.
