The World Cup of controversies is now less than 100 days away, yet the turmoil surrounding the tournament shows no sign of easing. Earlier in the day, Donald Trump advised Iran not to attend the World Cup “for their own life and safety.” Hours later, Iran’s national team responded publicly, defending its place in the tournament and emphasizing that it qualified on sporting merit. The exchange of statements has grown sharper by the day.

“The World Cup is a historic and international event, and its organizer is FIFA – not a single country. The Iranian national team, through authority and consecutive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was one of the first teams to qualify for this major tournament,” the squad wrote on its Instagram account, just hours after Trump posted his controversial message on Truth Social.

The response took a harder tone in its second paragraph, where the team suggested the United States should instead be excluded from the tournament. “Certainly, no one can expel the Iranian national team from the World Cup. Rather, the country that should be expelled is the one that merely holds the title of ‘host’ but lacks the ability to guarantee the safety of teams participating in this global event,” Team Melli said, referring to the unspecified obstacles Trump had cited when discouraging Iran from traveling to the United States.

A wave of contradictions: welcome to the United States, but…

Earlier in the morning, writing on his own social platform, the Republican leader said Iran “is welcome at the World Cup,” before adding a caveat: “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

The statement appeared to contradict comments made the night before by FIFA president Gianni Infantino through the federation’s official channels. Infantino had attempted to strike a conciliatory tone following the bombardments of Iran and its capital, Tehran, which began on February 28 and have reportedly killed more than 1,000 people, including civilians and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We spoke about the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Infantino said. “During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”

“Now more than ever, we all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together,” Infantino added. “I sincerely thank the president of the United States for his support, as it once again shows that soccer unites the world.”

Despite those efforts, the dispute continues to simmer, and Iran’s participation in the World Cup now appears uncertain.

Earlier this week, Iran’s sports minister, Ahman Donyamali, had already cast doubt on the team’s presence at the tri-nation tournament. “After the corrupt government killed our leader, there are no conditions that would allow us to participate in the World Cup,” he told Iranian state television on Tuesday.

Iran’s 2026 World Cup schedule (Group G)

• Iran vs New Zealand – June 15 – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
• Belgium vs Iran – June 21 – SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
• Iran vs Egypt – June 26 – Lumen Field, Seattle

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