Repechage Italy to World Cup: France identifies four participants in mini-tournament

Rumors are growing about Iran’s possible withdrawal from the 2026 World Cup. The country has been at war since Feb. 28, attacked by the United States and Israel, and has asked to move its group matches, originally scheduled in the U.S., to Mexico. FIFA rejected the request and now the presence of Tehran’s selection in the World Cup is at great risk.

In late March, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had declared that “Iran will participate in the World Cup.” However, there is a specific clause in the tournament’s regulations: article 6(7) states that “in the event of withdrawal or exclusion of a participating federation, FIFA will decide at its sole discretion and take such action as it deems appropriate.”

For days, there have been whispers of a hypothesis gaining momentum within FIFA: a last-minute intercontinental mini-tournament between two unqualified AFC (Asia) and two UEFA (Europe) national teams. The French portal nicematin has identified the names of the possible participants: the first is Italy, which is currently the team with the highest FIFA ranking among those outside the World Cup (13th position). FIFA could then decide to invite it precisely on the basis of this merit criterion.

The other European could be Denmark, 20th in the ranking and therefore favored over other teams such as Poland and Kosovo. As for the Asians, the United Arab Emirates, the best-ranked team among the non-qualifiers in the AFC confederation, is almost certain to be chosen; and the second Asian could be Oman, 79th in the rankings after making it to the fourth round of the qualifiers.

This four-team mini-tournament (Italy, Denmark, United Arab Emirates and Oman) would thus decide Iran’s replacement and would be placed in Group G along with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. The final decision should come at the end of April or early May.