Italy’s repechage to the World Cup: surprising indiscretion about Spain

Iran’s participation in the World Cup remains in the balance as does the intricate situation in the Middle East, but clear signals are coming from Tehran about the country’s willingness to participate in the upcoming World Cup scheduled for Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Despite rumors of an incredible substitution with Italy after pressure from Donald Trump’s top envoy to FIFA, coach Amir Ghalenoei’s team plans to prepare as well as possible for the competition: it will be in Turkey in May on a retreat to finalize final details before the tournament in the United States.

According to rumors reported by walfoot.be, the Iranian national team will play three or four friendly matches in preparation for the World Cup: opponents could surprisingly include Spain, the current European champion team.

Then Iran, if its participation is confirmed, will move to the United States in early June for the World Cup kickoff: the Tehran team will face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 16 and June 21, respectively, while it will close the round with Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

The proposal to replace Iran with the Azzurri, put forward by Trump’s special envoy Paolo Zampolli, meanwhile, has aroused more embarrassment than enthusiasm in Italy, as evidenced by a Gazzetta dello Sport poll: the “No, the World Cup had to be won on the field” option overwhelmingly won with 78.3 percent of the vote, against 21.7 percent in favor of repechage, out of more than 27,000 voters. Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti was clear: “I find it shameful. I would be ashamed,” while CONI President Luciano Buonfiglio said he was “offended” at the idea. The Iranian Embassy in Italy responded firmly on X: “Football belongs to the people, not to politicians. The attempt to exclude Iran from the World Cup only shows the ‘moral bankruptcy’ of the United States, which fears even the presence of eleven Iranian youths on the field of play.”

FIFA will have to lift the reservation by late April or early May. Should the post actually become vacant, in pole position for a direct replacement would remain an Asian selection, with the United Arab Emirates in the front row. Among the hypotheses on the table is a mini-qualifying tournament that would involve Italy and Denmark among the Europeans, as well as Asian, African and South American representatives, to fill the one spot that may remain vacant. FIFA regulations, in Article 6.7, however, leave any scenario open, stating that “FIFA will decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take any action it deems necessary.”