Iran’s World Cup Future Unclear After Attacks

Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup is uncertain following Saturday’s deadly attacks orchestrated by the U.S. and Israel.

The U.S., one of the three World Cup host countries, launched an attack on the tournament participant about 100 days before kickoff. More than 200 people have been reported dead by the Iranian Red Crescent Society, including its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. At least 10 people have been killed in Israel amid counterattacks.

The president of the Iranian soccer federation, Mehdi Taj, told the Iranian sports platform Varzesh3: “What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope.”

Iran is scheduled to play three group stage matches on U.S. soil against Belgium, New Zealand, and Egypt, the latter of which is the controversial FIFA Pride Game in Seattle.

If Iran and the U.S. each place second in their respective groups, they would face each other on July 3 in Dallas. The teams also played in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

FIFA officials were at the annual meeting of the International Football Association Board on Saturday as the violence unfolded. 

“I read the news the same way as you did this morning,” FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafstrom said in a press conference Saturday. “We had the [IFAB] meeting today and I think it’s a bit premature to comment on it in detail. But of course we will monitor the developments around all issues around the world.

“We had the final draw in Washington where all teams participated and of course our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.”

When asked for a statement, FIFA on Sunday afternoon directed back to Grafstrom’s comments from the day before.

The Iranian soccer federation and the Asian Football Confederation did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Andrew Giuliani, who heads the White House’s World Cup task force, posted a statement supporting the attacks on social media on Saturday, saying, “The largest state sponsor of terrorism in my lifetime is dead.”

“We’ll deal with soccer games tomorrow—tonight, we celebrate [Iranians’] opportunity for freedom,” Giuliani wrote. A spokesperson for the task force did not immediately respond to questions Sunday.

U.S. President Donald Trump received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize in December. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has a close relationship with Trump, and recently smiled in Trump’s signature “USA” hat at a meeting of his Board of Peace.

Iran was already one of a handful of World Cup nations whose citizens are fully or partially restricted from visiting the U.S. under Trump’s travel bans, though the administration said it would issue carve-outs to World Cup players, family, and staff. Fans are not included in those exemptions.

Iran’s women’s team is currently playing in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Australia. Head coach Marziyeh Jafari, AFC coach of the year in 2025, declined to speak on the recent events.

“I don’t think we should talk about these matters at all right now,” said Jafari, whose words were translated to English. “There’s a team here for a very important competition that matters to these women and I think those should be the questions.”

More Sports Affected

The attacks have caused numerous cancellations across sports. 

The AFC postponed continental club playoff games, while the Qatar Football Association postponed all matches. A cricket match in Abu Dhabi between Pakistani and English teams was cancelled. 

Daniil Medvedev won the Dubai Tennis Championships, which went on despite Iranian counterattacks across the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates.