On Thursday, April 23rd, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington does not oppose Iranian players participating in this summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup but prohibits players from bringing in individuals associated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
When asked if Iran could smoothly participate in the 2026 World Cup, Rubio responded, “The U.S. has not stated that they cannot participate.” President Trump also mentioned during a speech at the White House that the U.S. government “does not want to impact athletes.” Rubio explained, “The issue with Iran is not with their athletes, but with their desire to bring other individuals into the U.S., some of whom have connections with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. cannot let them enter the country.”
He further emphasized, “They cannot bring a group of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps terrorists into our country and pretend they are journalists and sports coaches.” Currently, the U.S. has designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
Apart from visa issues, Iran’s presence at the tournament’s locations has also sparked discussions. The 2026 World Cup is set to kick off on June 11th in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and Iran’s three group stage matches will all take place within the U.S.
According to the group stage draw of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Iran is grouped with Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand in Group G. The schedule indicates that Iran’s three group stage matches will be held on June 15th, 21st, and 26th in two major U.S. cities, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Iran has repeatedly requested to relocate the matches to Mexico, but such requests have been rejected by FIFA. Additionally, in April, Iran stated that they would decide on the national team’s participation only after receiving a formal response from FIFA regarding the venue change.
Nevertheless, FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently stated at a U.S. investment forum in Washington D.C., “The Iranian team will definitely come.”
Beyond venue and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issues, there have been rumors that the Iranian national team may be replaced by the Italian national team. Financial Times reported earlier that in order to mend relations between the U.S. and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Trump’s special envoy Paolo Zampolli privately suggested to FIFA that Italy should replace Iran in this World Cup.
According to FIFA regulations, in case any participating association withdraws or is excluded, FIFA has full discretionary power to directly replace them with another association.
The Italian national team lost 1-4 in a penalty shootout to the Mediterranean small country of “BiH” (Bosnia and Herzegovina) in the World Cup qualifying playoff in March, leading to Italy missing out on the World Cup for the third consecutive time.
Among the teams that have not yet secured a place in the World Cup, Italy is currently the highest-ranked team according to the latest official ranking released by FIFA on April 1st, with the Italian national men’s football team ranked 12th.
However, this proposal was promptly rejected by the Italian government and sports officials on the 23rd.
Secretary of State Rubio mentioned that this proposal does not reflect the U.S. government’s stance.
Regarding the replacement news, the U.S. White House, FIFA, the Italian Football Association, and the Iranian Football Association have not immediately responded. Nonetheless, there is currently no indication that Iran will be banned or withdraw from this international football event.