Italy’s repechage to the World Cup: a surprising new solution pops up
While FIFA continues to remain silent officially, but for now only unofficially, on Iran’s presence at the upcoming World Cup, and while Iran itself is not backing down and insisting on its own line, that of not playing on U.S. soil but in Mexico, it is not only the media of the national teams dreaming of repechage, from Italy to the United Arab Emirates, via Nigeria and Bolivia, just to name four, that are dealing with the issue.
South Korean mythmakers – we are not talking about the Federation, mind you – have come up with a solution to save goats and cabbages: a very bizarre idea is circulating on social media. In a nutshell, there are those who propose a swap: the Red Devils, placed in Group A with hosts Mexico, the Czech Republic and South Africa, would advance to Group G, taking on Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Iran, of course, would take the opposite route and, thus, play its matches in Mexico and not in the States. Stuff that would make even Byron Moreno, who starred in 2002 in the match between Italy and South Korea, pale in comparison, but so be it.
Surprising in the midst of this diplomatic and football bailamme, however, was the voice of the person directly concerned: the technical commissioner of “Team Melli,” Amir Ghalenoei, displaced everyone with an unusually soothing statement. “There is no reason not to participate in the World Cup. God willing, we will do it,” the 63-year-old former midfielder told German agency Dpa. Words that clash with the hard line taken by the government in Tehran, which has made a new request to FIFA for strict security measures in the United States to protect its national team and the entire delegation throughout their American stay. A final decision must come by early May, or else a hefty fine by FIFA.
On the White House front, however, there is a significant opening. Andrew Giuliani, head of the U.S. task force for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, said U.S. authorities are preparing for Iran’s participation, despite lingering geopolitical tensions. “I’m not going to speak for the Iranian team, but I can say that the president, when I discussed this with him, invited the Iranian national team to come here. So we are expecting them here from us,” Giuliani said. It is a position that marks a marked softening from Donald Trump’s previous post on Truth, in which the U.S. president had been decidedly more hostile and ambiguous on the issue.
