Trump is unfazed by Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup

March 4 – US President Donald Trump says he doesn’t care whether Iran plays in the 2026 World Cup.

In an interview with Politico, Trump said: “I really don’t care (if Iran participates). I think Iran is the country that lost badly. They ran out of steam.”

Last weekend, World Cup hosts the US, along with Israel, went to war with Iran, one of the World Cup finalists, leading to the death of supreme leader Ali Khamenei. In response, and as the region plunged into dangerous chaos, Iran retaliated with attacks against a number of countries, including World Cup finalists Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Iran will play Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G of the World Cup, but their participation is now in doubt. Iran is scheduled to play twice at SoFi Stadium in LA and at Lumen Field in Seattle.

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot expect to look at the World Cup with hope,” Iranian FA president Mehdi Taj told Iranian sports outlet Varzesh3 after the attack.

The Trump administration has barred Iranian citizens from entering the United States as part of a travel ban. However, World Cup teams and their support personnel are exempt from the ban. Last December, several Iranian delegates’ visa applications were rejected for the World Cup draw in Washington DC

On Saturday, on the sidelines of the IFAB meeting, FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom said that FIFA was monitoring the situation.

FIFA’s rules regarding replacing teams who withdraw from the finals – articles six and seven of the World Cup rules – are unclear but give the world governing body the freedom to choose a replacement.

Replacements are likely to come from the AFC region with Iraq, who still have to play in the World Cup qualifying playoffs, and the United Arab Emirates, who finished third behind Iran in qualifying, considered the most obvious options.

This week FIFA held a team workshop in Atlanta, an operational briefing for the finalists, but Iran did not attend.

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