Qualified but cornered: Iran faces potential 2026 FIFA World Cup ban over escalating conflict with Israel, US

As missiles fly between Iran and Israel, the reverberations are now reaching football’s grandest stage. With the United States recently targeting three Iranian nuclear sites, Tehran’s World Cup dreams are tangled in geopolitics. Iran has already booked its ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but playing on American soil — where much of the tournament unfolds — might become an impossible goal.

Iran was the sixth team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, aiming for its fourth consecutive appearance. The tournament, scheduled from June 11 to July 19, will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. But with tensions flaring in the Middle East and the U.S. directly involved, Iran’s participation is under a growing cloud of uncertainty.

While Iran has secured its spot, Israel still needs to navigate the qualification rounds to earn its place in the tournament. Yet it’s Iran’s path that appears far more politically fraught.

FIFA has yet to make any official comment. Still, the logistics are tricky: fixtures haven’t been released, but avoiding the US entirely seems unlikely. Even if Iran’s group-stage matches were based in Canada, advancing further would almost certainly require travel to the US.

Complicating matters further, Iranian fans face a ban on travel to the US due to a longstanding order issued during Donald Trump’s presidency. If current policies remain unchanged, fans from Iran would only be able to attend matches in Canada and Mexico.

Any workaround — such as a hybrid model to keep Iran out of the US — seems improbable and would pose major logistical hurdles. A ban is not out of the question either. Precedent exists: FIFA barred Russia from its competitions after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The fallout is already evident elsewhere. Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi has been unable to join his club, Inter Milan, due to the domestic conflict. And no Iranian clubs are taking part in the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, which has seen teams like Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia), Urawa Red Diamonds (Japan), and Al Ain (UAE) representing Asia.