The 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico will take place from June 11 to July 19, which is less than 100 days away from starting. However, political tensions between the US, Israel and Iran are making the possibility of Iran's participation uncertain.
President of the Iranian Football Federation Mehdi Taj admitted that the current situation makes it difficult for the country's national team to aim for the tournament normally.
What is certain is that after the recent attacks, we are unlikely to aim for this World Cup" - Mr. Taj said.
Faced with the possibility of Iran boycotting the tournament, US President Donald Trump did not seem too concerned. In an interview with L'Equipe newspaper, Mr. Trump said: "I really don't care.
Currently, Iranian citizens are on the list of people banned from entering the US government. However, for major international sports events such as the World Cup or the Olympics, the US still applies exceptions for national teams and sports delegations.
This means that the Iranian team can still enter the US to compete. However, the ban still applies to Iranian fans, limiting the ability of fans to directly cheer at the tournament.
According to the draw results, Iran is in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Meanwhile, the US team is in Group D with Paraguay, Australia and a representative who passed the European regional play-off round.
Notably, the two teams are fully capable of facing each other in the round of 32 if they both finish the group stage in second place. This will be a remarkable reunion after the US defeated Iran 1-0 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
