Donald Trump ‘really does not care’ if Iran play at World Cup 2026 | World Cup 2026
Donald Trump said he does not care whether Iran participates in this summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The United States and Israel began attacking targets in the country on Saturday, as the Middle East conflict has since spread across the region.
US President Trump told Politico: “I don’t really care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on steam.” Iran was the only country absent from FIFA’s planning summit for World Cup participants held this week in Atlanta, deepening questions about whether the country’s team would compete on U.S. soil this summer amid an escalating regional war.
Fifa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s football federation, said the violence of the attacks by US and Israeli forces does not bode well for the World Cup, which runs from June 11 to July 19. Iran qualified for a fourth consecutive World Cup by finishing top of Group A in the third round of Asian Football Confederation qualifying last year.
The Iranians are in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Their matches are expected to take place in the United States, with two meetings in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. If the United States and Iran finish second in their respective groups, the two countries could meet in a Round of 32 match on July 3 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Iran is one of two competing countries subject to Trump’s most restrictive travel ban, enacted by executive order last June, according to Politico. While the ban excludes World Cup teams and their support staff, decisions about visa exceptions for others — including government figures or executives of companies sponsoring the teams — are left to the State Department on a case-by-case basis.
Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House task force for the FIFA World Cup, said in a January interview that security concerns would shape the administration’s approach to exceptions to the travel ban.
In a statement to Politico on Tuesday, Giuliani added: “President Trump’s decisive action to remove the Ayatollah, the most notorious state sponsor of terrorism in my lifetime, removes a major destabilizing threat and will help protect people around the world, including Americans and the millions who plan to attend the 2026 World Cup in the United States.” »
In the modern era, no qualified team has appeared in the World Cup final. Iran would almost certainly be replaced if they withdrew from the tournament.
