Italy’s repechage to the World Cup, Iran impeached openly accuses Trump
Just over two weeks to Iran’s World Cup 2026 opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles, and Tehran’s selection still finds itself grappling with the visa issue. ‘Team Melli’ has been training for days in Turkey, and is expected to leave shortly for Tijuana, Mexico, where the new base camp has been set up after the U.S. refused to host Tehran’s national team for the entire rainbow event.
But Iran remains in limbo because it will have to play three times in the U.S., and needs multiple-entry visas that have not yet arrived, casting shadows and uncertainty on Tehran’s selection’s World Cup adventure. In a statement issued by one of its embassies, Iran openly attacked the U.S. for the bureaucratic delays, accusing it of acting “in bad faith.”
“The U.S. is abusing its role as the host country of the World Cup,” the note reads. “It has issued visas with strong restrictions to the Iranian national team, which is supposed to play on U.S. soil. In addition, they have not issued visas to the South African national team, Bafana Bafana, in a reasonable time. Either they are unable to handle the procedure properly, or they are acting in bad faith.” The reference is to South Africa’s delayed departure for North America, still without visas.
The Bafana Bafana were supposed to leave the country on Sunday on a charter flight bound for their preparation base in Pachuca, Mexico, but several players and staff members have still not been granted visas, just eleven days before the opener against the Mexican hosts. The situation forced the delegation into a postponement and an emergency meeting, triggering the ire of South African Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie, who called the affair “embarrassing and profoundly unfair,” adding in the harshest of tones, “We are being made to look like fools.”
In the background of this tangled diplomatic and sporting affair is always the issue of Italy’s repechage. Under Article 6.7 of FIFA regulations-which provides for the possibility of replacing a withdrawn or excluded association with another federation-the Azzurri, first among the non-qualifiers in the FIFA rankings, could be candidates in the event of an Iranian forfeit. Paolo Zampolli, U.S. Special Representative for Global Partnerships and envoy of President Trump, said he had directly proposed the Italian candidacy to Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. However, hopes remain faint: Iran’s determination to participate, even under the most adverse conditions, seems hard to shake at the moment.
