Iran Has Qualified… But Not So Fast My Friend
The country of Iran has qualified for a 2026 FIFA World Cup spot. They are already placed in a Group. They are in Group G along with Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand. But as there is a World Cup, there is also a war going on. A war with Iran. The World Cup is going to be hosted by all three countries in North America. That is the United States, Canada, and Mexico for those who don’t know geography. This makes for a very complex situation.
Iran’s delegation will depart for their World Cup base camp in Mexico on Saturday, despite the ongoing ambiguity over their visas for the United States, less than two weeks before their opening game.
The Iran national football team will depart for Tijuana on Saturday, June 6th, and is scheduled to arrive in Mexico on Sunday, June 7th, the team’s official social media account announced on Wednesday.
Iran will play their last World Cup warm-up game against Mali on Thursday in Turkiye, where they have been training for the upcoming tournament since last month. The squad has played three friendlies in two training camps since the start of the US and Israel’s war on Iran that started on February 28th.
“Considering the importance of the Iranian national football team’s friendly match against Mali, and in line with the tactical objectives of Iran’s head coach, tomorrow’s match against Mali will be held behind closed doors and without media attendance,” Iran’s football federation said in a statement.
On Monday evening, Iran’s football federation chief Mehdi Taj said the players were expected to get their visas for Mexico either on Tuesday or Wednesday “and then a US visa will be issued quickly”. The federation has not revealed whether visas for Mexico and the US have been received.
The World Cup will run from June 11th to July 19th.
Security is of Utmost Importance
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers on Tuesday that the US would not let Iranians with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “embed” themselves in the World Cup delegation. Rubio made the comments while testifying at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in Washington.
“What we’re not going to allow is for them to embed in their delegation a bunch of people that we know have nothing to do with athletics and have ties to the IRGC or things of that nature, so we were going to watch that very closely,” Rubio said at the hearing.
In April, an Iranian football federation delegation got turned back at Toronto’s main airport and missed a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver. The delegation members turned back upon arrival at Toronto’s Pearson airport despite holding valid visas, citing what was described as the “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials”.
In 2024, Canada listed Iran’s IRGC as a terrorist organization, and statements from the Canadian government indicated that anyone with ties will be denied entry due to their alleged ties with the IRGC. The incident prompted the federation to seek reassurance from FIFA that the US will not insult the IRGC during the World Cup.
On a Side Note
Sardar Azmoun, known as “Iranian Messi”, was left off the country’s World Cup squad after being accused of treason. Azmoun was accused of a disloyal act after posting a photo on social media with a known U.S. ally who supports the war on Iran.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei dropped Azmoun from Iran’s national soccer squad in March, and it was reportedly due to that social media post that angered Iranian authorities.
Azmoun, a 31-year-old striker who is well known for his time playing for Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma, posted a photo alongside the Emir of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is a known U.S. ally and has shown support for the US involvement in the war against Iran.
Azmoun, who has over 5.8 million followers on Instagram, quickly deleted the photo, but it was up long enough to anger authorities, and he was accused of “treason” and a “disloyal act.”
