Iran’s World Cup place uncertain amid geopolitical crisis | OneFootball

Europe and intercontinental play-offs concluded on Tuesday, completing the World Cup line-up for the United States, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July. According to L'Équipe, Iran’s participation, or the terms of it, remains in doubt after 28 February attacks by the United States and Israel.

Uncertainty persists despite shifting messages from Washington. On 9 March Donald Trump said the war was almost over, then on Wednesday he spoke of leaving Iran very quickly, while on 11 March Iran’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said that, given his accusation that the United States had assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran could not take part.

Iran qualified directly and are slated for Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, with fixtures in Los Angeles and Seattle. Egypt versus Iran on 27 June has been designated the Pride Match.

During the international break Iran played friendlies in Antalya, Türkiye, losing 1-2 to Nigeria then beating Costa Rica 5-0. Amid suggestions of non-participation or moving games to Mexico, FIFA president Gianni Infantino met the Iranian delegation on Tuesday and maintained that matches will be played as drawn and that Iran are set to compete, with no plan B, C or D.

Even so, a fallback cannot be excluded, with the final decision likely to rest with Tehran’s leadership and its willingness to be represented on what it considers enemy soil. On 12 March Trump said the Iran team would be welcome but that their presence did not seem appropriate for their safety.

If Iran withdraw, the Asian Football Confederation would be expected to propose a replacement to preserve confederation slots. With Iraq through via the intercontinental play-off, the spot would logically pass to the United Arab Emirates, beaten by Iraq in Asia’s play-off 1-1 and 1-2. At Qatar 2022, Iran lost 0-1 to the United States in the group stage.

Source: L'Équipe