Italy’s repechage to World Cup: "Commitments not fulfilled" Iran hangs in the balance
The issue of Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico is far from resolved. While in the background the situation over the Strait of Hormuz remains in the balance, Tehran’s selection is currently in Turkey where it is training, awaiting its fate. ‘Team Melli’ has moved its base camp to Tijuana, Mexico, after the Americans’ refusal to host the team for the duration of the event.
But the situation is likely to backfire on Iran: the Iranian players and technical staff will in fact have to enter U.S. soil three times for their matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, which will be located in Los Angeles (first two matches) and Seattle. Iranian federation president Mehdi Taj said Wednesday that he expects the U.S. to issue multiple-entry visas as soon as possible.
“The U.S. must grant multiple-entry visas to all players, as they will have to leave and re-enter the U.S. many times,” Taj told local press. As of yet, no visas have reached the Iranian team members.
The particular situation is likely to heavily influence Iran itself, which is aiming for a prestigious result in the competition. According to Tehran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, the fairness principles of the competition have been violated. “That country to the north (the U.S. ed.) has not fulfilled its commitment to host the Iranian national team and we do not know whether or not they will send visas. We are not participating in the World Cup on equal terms because we have not been able to train our team as we should have.”
In the background of this tangled diplomatic and sporting affair, Italy awaits news. Under Article 6.7 of FIFA regulations-which provides for the possibility of replacing a withdrawn or excluded association with another federation-the Azzurri could be chosen as candidates for repechage in the event of an Iranian forfeit. Paolo Zampolli, U.S. Special Representative for Global Partnerships and envoy of President Trump, said he directly proposed the Italian bid to Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
