Pushing back on US President Donald Trump's comments, Iran's national football team says "no one can exclude" it from playing in the men's World Cup in the United States. "The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA - not any individual, country," the post said. 20 in the world by FIFA and has qualified for its fourth straight World Cup edition. Iran's soccer federation has planned to use a tournament base camp in Arizona, at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson. Before the World Cup, Iranian soccer officials are due to attend FIFA's annual congress on April 30 in Vancouver.

Source: The Telegraph March 13, 2026 15:46 UTC