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In the latest development to answer ongoing questions about Iran’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it has now been confirmed that the tournament will go ahead as planned with all 48 teams, including the Iran national football team. Iran will begin its campaign against New Zealand on June 15 in Los Angeles. FIFA President Gianni Infantino confirmed the news, saying: “The Iranian team is definitely coming, yes.”
Iran qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on March 25, 2025 by securing a place in the top two of the third round of their AFC group after a 2-2 home draw against Uzbekistan. However, Iran’s withdrawal from the tournament has been discussed due to the war between Israel and the United States, host of the 2026 World Cup, in which even their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed in large-scale American-Israeli attacks. Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali had also asked that the games be moved to Mexico because they did not want to play in the USA. Not only that, but the President of the United States, Donald Trumpexplained that it would be better for Iran not to visit the country for “life and security reasons.”
SPORT ⚽️.
Iran 🇮🇷 will join in.
The war in the Middle East is still ongoing, with less than two months until the FIFA World Cup, but the FIFA president is confident that Iran 🇮🇷 will PARTICIPATE in the tournament in the USA 🇺🇸. pic.twitter.com/YCyjdSPLir– DW (@WDSomUnity) April 16, 2026
But despite all the uncertainty and political tension, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has reiterated his confidence that Iran will take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America this summer, dispelling any doubts about participation.
Gianni Infantino confirms Iran wants to take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
“We obviously hope that there is a peaceful situation by then, that would definitely help,” Infantino told CNBC on Tuesday. “But of course Iran has to come. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino said he was recently in Antalya, Turkey, to visit the Iranian team in training camp and said the team wanted to take part in the World Cup.
“You should play — sports should be outside of politics,” Infantino said. “Well – we don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth, but if there’s no one else who believes in building bridges and keeping them intact and together, then that’s what we do.”
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Iran’s 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in the United States
Iran, one of the first teams to qualify for the World Cup – expected to generate revenue of more than $11 billion – will play all three group stages in the United States
Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand on June 15 and then face Belgium on June 21, both games taking place in Los Angeles. Iran is scheduled to face Egypt in Seattle on June 26th. If Iran progresses, the remaining games would also be played in the USA. Iran requested FIFA to move the games to Mexico, where the games will be held along with the United States and Canada, but this was rejected.
No national team has withdrawn from a FIFA World Cup since 1950, the first tournament after World War II. Ticket costs and the safety of the millions of fans from all over the world were also a major concern for the organizers.
With “unprecedented demand for tickets,” Infantino said there were more than 500 million ticket requests. “Safety is obviously key, it’s crucial, it’s important,” he said. “Of course you always hear and read that there are bans or this and that, but the fact is, we have received ticket requests from all 211 countries. Everyone is coming and everyone wants to come.”
So what would a successful World Cup be for Infantino? “A victory would be that we have a successful World Cup from a safety perspective, so no incidents,” he said. “And from a football perspective, great games, great games, excitement for the people.”
(With inputs from Reuters)
