Italy’s repechage to the World Cup: Fifa takes time and reasons
The Iranian Football Federation has already asked FIFA for several days for a change of venue, proposing to move to Mexico the matches that by schedule should be played in the United States, between Los Angeles and Seattle. However, so far no positive response has come, mainly due to organizational and logistical difficulties.FIFA is taking its time and reasoning about what to do, but the countdown has begun. Consequently, as the conflict unfortunately still appears far from a solution, the possibility that Iran may opt out is taking more and more shape. The Asian eleven is placed in the same group as Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.
Reiterating Tehran’s position was directly Iran’s Sports Minister, Ahmad Donyamali, speaking to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, “The request to move our matches to Mexico is still valid, but we have not yet received a response. We will still keep the team ready for the World Cup, although the final decision will be up to our government. Trump’s statements are very contradictory and inconsistent: according to FIFA regulations, security must be provided by the country concerned. The World Cup is coming up soon, and these guarantees are far from a given. Under these circumstances, the likelihood that Iran will participate in World Cup matches in the United States is very low.”
The likely forfeit of the Asian selection has inevitably rekindled rumors about a possible repechage of Italy, which was left out of the World Cup. The Azzurri are the national team with the highest coefficient among those excluded, currently occupying the 12th position in the FIFA ranking. In an unprecedented situation such as this, FIFA’s decisions could also take unexpected paths.
Giving clarity on the regulatory framework is Article 6.7 of the competition regulations: “If a participating federation withdraws and/or is excluded from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, FIFA will decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take any action it deems necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the participating federation in question with another federation.” A rule that, at least on paper, leaves any scenario open.
The established practice, however, does not smile on Italy: in case of exclusion of an Asian national team, the place would traditionally be assigned to a selection from the same continent. In this sense, the United Arab Emirates would be the most credible candidates, also on the strength of Iraq’s recent qualification – which pulled off a pass in the playoff against Bolivia – which effectively freed up a potential slot for the UAE, which was eliminated by the Iraqis on their way to the World Cup. For the Emirates, this would be a historic return: their only participation in a final stage dates back to Italia ’90.
The Italian Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi, also expressed himself on the subject with evident embarrassment: “It seems to me difficult that a European can be repechaged and I don’t even hope so.” Words that take a good picture of the delicacy of the situation, in which Azzurri hopes remain remote but technically not entirely ruled out, while waiting for FIFA to lift all reservations about Iranian participation.
