“We won’t boycott the World Cup, just the United States,” says Iran in bold move
Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, says Iran plans to play in this summer’s tournament, just not at the venues scheduled.
Iran’s national team is sticking to its plan to appear at the 2026 World Cup. During the March international break, the team will play two friendly matches as part of its preparation. While escalating tensions between the U.S., Israel, and Iran have so far not affected the team, the squad’s participation in the World Cup starting June 11 remains uncertain.
Federation president denies World Cup boycott
Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, spoke publicly about the team’s World Cup plans. While he denied that Iran would skip the tournament, he issued a pointed statement: “We will boycott the United States, but we will not boycott the World Cup.” Taj made the comments late yesterday while welcoming the women’s national team back to Iran at the border crossing from Turkey after their trip from Australia, according to Fars News Agency and Reuters.
Iran’s pre-World Cup friendlies set
Iran confirmed its two March friendlies: against Nigeria on March 27 and Costa Rica on March 31. “The national team is currently training in Turkey, where we will also play two friendly matches,” Taj said.
Push to avoid U.S. group stage matches
In recent days, Iran has requested that FIFA allow it to play all three of its group stage matches on Mexican soil. Currently, Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and Egypt in Seattle.
FIFA rejected the proposal in a brief statement: “FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, to discuss planning for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. FIFA expects all participating teams to compete according to the match schedule announced on December 6, 2025.”
Despite FIFA’s confirmation that the schedule will proceed as planned, Iran continues to press for exemptions from playing on U.S. soil during the group stage.
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