Iran still playing in World Cup 2026 despite withdrawal rumours, AFC says
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) says it has not received any notification from Iran that it will withdraw its national football team from the FIFA World Cup 2026. Iran have qualified for the 48-team tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico starting on June 11 and are scheduled to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. US President Donald Trump said last week that Iran was welcome to participate in the World Cup but he believed it was not appropriate that they be there “for their own life and safety”. Everybody’s saying a lot of things,” AFC General Secretary Windsor John told reporters on Monday in Kuala Lumpur. “At the end of the day, it’s the federation who should decide if they’re playing, and as of today, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup. It is unclear whether FIFA would have time to replace Iran should they decide to withdraw from the 2026 tournament.