Major Update on Iran’s Status For 2026 FIFA World Cup in U.S.

There is a growing belief that Iran could boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup amid its ongoing war with the United States of America, one of the host nations of this year’s quadrennial soccer extravaganza.

Mehdi Taj, the President of the Iranian Football Federation, told Iranian media over the weekend that his country is unsure about its participation.

“It’s not possible to say exactly, but there will certainly be a response,” Taj said, via Reuters. “This will surely be studied by the country’s high-ranking sports officials and there will be a decision on what’s going to happen.

“But what we can say now is that due to this attack and its viciousness, it is far from our expectations that we can look at the World Cup with hope.”

Iran is currently slated to play all three of its Group G games in the U.S. — against New Zealand (June 15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood), Belgium (June 21 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood) and Egypt (June 26 at Lumen Field in Seattle). Team Melli will reportedly reside at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, during the tournament.

FIFA Hopeful For Iran Participation

In response to Taj, FIFA said it is focused on “everybody participating” in the World Cup and is hopeful tensions between the U.S. and Iran will subside before the summer.

“I read the news the same way you did this morning. We had a meeting (the AGM) today and it would be premature to comment on that in detail,” FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said at a conference over the weekend, via The Athletic.

“But of course we will monitor the developments around all issues around the world.

“We had a final draw in Washington where all teams participated and of course our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.”

Iran qualified for its fourth consecutive FIFA World Cup in March 2025 when striker Mehdi Taremi scored twice in the second half against Uzbekistan. Team Melli failed to advance past the group stages in its three previous World Cup appearances, but made a lot of noise. Iran shocked Wales with two goals in stoppage time in 2022, and drew 1-1 against Portugal in 2018. In 2022, it needed just a draw to advance past the group stages, but incidentally suffered a loss to the U.S. (1-0) after a hard-fought battle.

What Happens If Iran Boycotts?

No country has boycotted the soccer tournament since the 1966 FIFA World Cup, when the entire continent of Africa protested the lack of a guaranteed, direct qualification spot for any of its countries. At the time, FIFA required African, Oceania and Asian countries to compete for just one spot, which African nations deemed unjust. Furthermore, the African nations also stood in solidarity against Apartheid.

So, what happens if Iran boycotts the 2026 FIFA World Cup?

Under FIFA’s World Cup regulations, the global soccer governing body could select a replacement from the same region—in this case, Asia.

“If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”

The governing body’s regulations also state that, “FIFA has the right to cancel, reschedule or relocate one or more matches (or the entire FIFA World Cup 26) for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.”

As such, Iran’s games could be moved to either Canada or Mexico, the other two host nations. The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with the finals set to be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

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