Italy’s repechage to the World Cup, is there a glimmer? Why is there talk of it

The war in Iran shows no sign of abating with just over two months to go before the World Cup kicks off, and rumors are rife about a possible repechage of Italy for the rainbow event scheduled in Canada, the United States and Mexico. While an inclusion of the Azzurri seems like science fiction at the moment, the possibility of an Iranian forfeit is much more concrete, considering that the tournament is being held right at the home of one of the belligerent sides, the United States.

As an unprecedented situation arises, FIFA’s decisions could also come as a surprise. Currently, Iran is qualified and drawn in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Under exceptional circumstances such as a protracted war, the Asian selection could be excluded to make way for another selection, not necessarily from the same continent.

Article 6.7 is clear: “If a participating federation withdraws and/or is excluded from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, FIFA will decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take any action it deems necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the participating federation in question with another federation.”

The established practice would not give Italy a chance: it would be the United Arab Emirates, which belongs to the same continent, that would qualify. But Fifa could open to unconventional solutions, and favor instead the selection with the best coefficient in the world ranking, namely Italy, currently 12th.

The recent qualification of an Asian national team (Iraq) in the play-off with Bolivia could thus increase the Azzurri’s chances, which remain remote in any case. Iran, however, has so far confirmed its participation in the World Cup, and at the moment there is no news in this regard: for the Azzurri, therefore, a narrow window remains, an all-political repechage that bookmakers are quoting at 50.