The Iranian Football Federation isn’t feeling too optimistic about the upcoming World Cup, especially after recent U.S.-backed Israeli actions against Iran. They’ve managed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to take place across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada this summer. Their first match is slated against New Zealand on June 15 at SoFi Stadium in California.
Despite this achievement, President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, expressed a rather bleak perspective. He mentioned that the recent attacks mean they can’t approach the World Cup with much hope. “The U.S. regime is attacking our homeland, and this is an incident that will not be resolved,” he stated on sports portal Varzesh3.
On the American side, Andrew Guiliani, who leads the White House World Cup Task Force, addressed the situation, emphasizing a celebration of freedom alongside the football match, though he didn’t dive deep into the topic.
Furthermore, FIFA has stated it will keep a close eye on the developments in Iran. With the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the Iranian national team is currently in a 40-day mourning period, which means they may not focus on World Cup preparations. Should they participate in the tournament, there’s talk that players and officials might be exempt from U.S. entry restrictions, which is noteworthy given that Iranians typically face travel bans to the U.S.
The ongoing tensions have escalated, as Iran has retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel and nearby nations hosting U.S. military bases. Following the U.S.-Israel actions, the Israeli national gymnastics team halted all activities, citing the chaos caused by the violence.
The Israel Gymnastics Federation noted the current security situation has disrupted their normal training schedules, leading to a lot of uncertainty for the team at the start of the international season.
As tensions rise, gymnasts in Israel are reportedly being moved to air raid shelters for safety. Over the weekend, Iranian airstrikes resulted in casualties, with at least eight Israelis killed near Jerusalem.
