Italy’s repechage to World Cup, tensions rise again: "It' our right"
The conflict in the Persian Gulf is about to flare up again, tensions between the United States and Iran are back on a high, and all of this is likely to affect the participation of Tehran’s selection in the 2026 World Cup right in the United States. The Zurich meeting with FIFA could push away the shadows, but at the moment everything still hangs in the balance (Italy is an interested spectator) and from Iran come the embattled statements of the players, who claim the right to participate in the rainbow review.
Iran striker Ali Alipour has no doubts: “Participating in the World Cup is our right and we have to fight for our country and its territorial integrity. We are soldiers of Iran and according to our duty, we will prove it on the field,” are the words reported by Irna news agency.
“The situation of the retreat is very good. After the league break, on the decision of coach Amir Khan Ghalenoei and the technical staff, we entered the preparation phase with the national team. Athletic and tactical trainings are proceeding according to plan and we feel that we are improving day by day. We are working with great seriousness and commitment to reach the level of physical and technical fitness required by the staff as soon as possible, so that we can arrive at the World Cup with a very cohesive team and achieve a great result.”
Alipour commented on Trump’s envoy’s pressure to replace Iran with Italy: “No one can take away our place in favor of another team: qualification is our right. Under the leadership of Amir Khan Ghalenoei, we achieved the fastest qualification in history. The FIFA president confirmed that Iran will be there. The support of great champions like Figo and Mourinho is not accidental. The World Cup is an event that unites the whole world. Fans in every country support their national team to experience moments of joy. We do not care about the distractions created by the president of that country; our mind is focused only on our work.”
