With less than 100 days until the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins, Iran’s participation in the tournament has been thrown into serious doubt following escalating conflict in the Middle East.
The United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran last Saturday that killed over 1,000 people, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Al Jazeera. Tehran responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel and US military bases across the region, spreading the conflict to 12 countries.
President Trump’s response to questions about Iranian participation was blunt. “I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes,” he told Politico on Tuesday, adding that he doesn’t care whether Iran competes or not.
Iran was the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Now, officials from both Iran’s football federation and FIFA have been noncommittal about the world’s 20th-ranked team actually participating. “After this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, told local sports portal Varzesh3 on Sunday.
The logistical challenges are significant. All of Iran’s Group G matches are scheduled for venues on the West Coast of the United States, largely due to the sizable Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles, where the Iran national football team would play two of their three group games. But with active military conflict between a host nation and a participant, visa approvals for Iranian players, coaches and support staff appear highly unlikely.
This would be one of few times in World Cup history that a team has pulled out of the tournament for political reasons. The last time this occurred was in 1950, when Argentina pulled out due to disagreements with the Brazilian Football Confederation.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said the organization is “monitoring developments” and will “continue to communicate with the host governments.” Whether FIFA would allow Iran to relocate matches to Canada or Mexico, or what happens to Iran’s qualifying spot if they withdraw, remains unclear.
While geopolitical tensions cloud the tournament’s future, Mexico’s preparations continue. The iconic Azteca Stadium is scheduled to reopen March 28, giving workers just over three weeks to complete renovations that stadium owner Emilio Azcárraga Jean admits are behind schedule. “I don’t see their dates going accordingly as the planned dates,” he told reporters last month.
Aerial images from the Associated Press show all 82,000 new seats and the hybrid pitch installed, but crews are still finishing hospitality areas and luxury boxes. One parking lot remains covered in rubble. “This first stage ends on March 28 with the reopening, and then we’ll continue with the remaining work for the World Cup,” Azcárraga said.
The phased approach raises questions about what ‘ready’ means when the stadium hosts Mexico’s opening match against South Africa on June 11. The new hybrid pitch remains untested, a concern given that poor field conditions forced the NFL to relocate a game in 2018.
The Azteca will become the first stadium to host three World Cup tournaments, but whether it will truly be ready remains uncertain.
