The Islamic Republic of Iran men's football team. Advertisement“We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico.”Soccer’s global governing body FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HUGE LOGISTICAL SWITCHIran secured a trip to a fourth successive World Cup by topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year. In September last year, Scotland secured a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Belarus at Zalaegerszeg near the Austrian and Slovenian borders, after a ruling by UEFA over the role of Belarus as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday that it had not received any notification that Iran will withdraw from the event.

Source: Huffington Post March 17, 2026 13:44 UTC