US President Donald Trump has said he ‘does not care’ whether Iran plays at the 2026 World Cup this summer amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Israel and America have bombarded Iran with strikes over the last five days, with retaliatory attacks fired back at US-allied states in the Gulf.
The US is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.
Iran have qualified for their fourth successive World Cup but could well boycott it. When asked for his thoughts on the matter, Trump told Politico: ‘I really don’t care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.’
If Iran do pull out, Iraq and the UAE are the most likely beneficiaries. Iraq will qualify if they win an intercontinental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname, scheduled to be played on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.
Iraq qualifying is likely to mean the UAE would take Iran’s spot as the next highest-ranked Asian side. If Iraq loses the play-off, they could have the security of being next in line should Iran pull out.
Head of the Iranian FA, Mehdi Taj, recently said: ‘It is far from our expectations that we can look at the World Cup with hope.’
He added that a decision over the team’s participation would be made by the country’s sports officials.
FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom suggested the possibility of withdrawal had already been discussed, saying: ‘We had a meeting… and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world.
‘Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.’
Iran are due to play New Zealand and Belgium in LA before their last group game against Egypt in Seattle.
Trump is expected to be front and centre for the World Cup, as he was for the Club World Cup last summer, and was brought on stage for the draw in Washington DC last December when he was given a medal, winning the inaugural ‘FIFA Peace Prize’.
