The Iranian team’s participation has been up in the air following the start of the Iran war in late February.
WASHINGTON — FIFA President Gianni Infantino insisted that Iran will play their World Cup matches in the U.S. as scheduled.
During a surprise appearance at a match between Costa Rica and Iran in Turkey, Infantino said that the Iranian team will be at the World Cup and that he’s spoken to the players and the coach about the tournament
“That’s why we’re here. We’re delighted because they’re a very, very strong team, I’m very happy,” Infantino told AFP on Tuesday. “I’ve seen the team, I’ve spoken to the players and the coach, so everything is fine.”
The president of the governing body for the summer tournament also emphasized that the matches will be “played where they are supposed to be, according to the draw. Iran is set to play their first group game against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 before facing Belgium in the same city on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
The Iranian team’s participation has been up in the air since the start of the Iran war in late February.
“For us, what matters most are FIFA’s rules and regulations. We will comply with whatever FIFA decides. Every host country has made commitments to FIFA and must honour them,” Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the vice president of the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), told AFP at the match on Tuesday.
Earlier in March, U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran’s national soccer team would be allowed to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, but he then suggested it might not be safe for the players to participate.
In a post on the social media platform Truth Social, Trump wrote that the team was “welcome to The World Cup” but added that he did not believe it was “appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
The Iranian ambassador in Mexico City has said the country asked FIFA to move those three games to Mexico after Trump discouraged the team from attending, though on Tuesday, Infantino dampened the attempts to move the matches.
The United States is co-hosting the expanded 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.