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Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in upcoming Fifa World Cup
SSports

Trump envoy seeks to replace Iran with Italy in upcoming Fifa World Cup

  • April 23, 2026

Iran advanced to a seventh World Cup after topping their group in qualifying and were drawn in Group G with New Zealand, Egypt and Belgium. They are set to face the All Whites on June 16 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Last week, Infantino said that Iran will “for sure” participate in the event despite the Middle East war.

“Iran is coming for sure. We hope that by then the situation will be a peaceful situation, that would definitely help.

“But Iran has to come, they represent their people, they have qualified, the players want to play.”

Iran’s participation in the global tournament had been thrown into doubt by the war with the US and Israel that broke out on February 28.

“Sports should be outside of politics,” Infantino said.

“If there’s nobody else that believes in building bridges and keeping them intact and together, we are doing the job.”

The World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, starts on June 11.

– With AFP

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