I am saying any fully committed participant should be guaranteed the same privileges as any other federation.
Iran will use this for propaganda purposes. As any country would. They're not going to officially pull out. They want the US to refuse them the right to compete because they can point at an injustice. Small as it is in the grand scheme of things they will take every opportunity they can. This means that there will be a long delay in finalising the list of competitors. Iraq are supposed to play off against Bolivia in Mexico on 31 March. I heard René Meulensteen, who is their assistant coach, explaining that they have been told to drive to Turkey to catch a flight to Mexico. Apparently at least a 24 hour drive. He wants the play off delayed as long as possible to give the opportunity for the situation to calm down. As late as 7-10 days before the tournament. I don't think that will work well for FIFA and ticket sales. The pragmatic solution is to qualify both Iraq and Bolivia. FIFA needs to show leadership and pick an option.
24 hours seems like an exaggeration. Why do they have to drive all the way to the opposite/northwest corner of Türkiye (Istanbul) when any part of Türkiye is in NATO airspace? They'd drive right through at least three other big cities long before reaching Istanbul. Fly out of one of those, I'd say. I suspect their trip to Mexico, with this inconvenient leg on the bus, is not even the longest among the teams involved in the playoff.
They can only get a direct flight to Mexico from Istanbul though, unless there is a chartered aircraft, which I doubt the Iraqi FA could afford. 24 hours to Istanbul is the time it would take a car to travel non stop. A coach would be slower and it doesn't factor in rest stops. Stopping off at another airport and getting a connecting flight isn't going to save any time when you factor in the time needed to be at the airport.
Japanese football legend Keisuke Honda reveals a U.S. sponsor paused an ad deal after he said he wants Iran to participate in the World Cup.“We’re better off without companies that ignore the essence and make rotten decisions.” pic.twitter.com/ARPVJpouO1— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) March 13, 2026
At this point statesman Gianni should get involved and pay/coordinate some of the arrangements if the Iraqi FA (and government?) can't do it themselves. Surely someone would like to turn this into a propaganda event. Getting Iraq to Mexico safely? Perhaps even a certain peace prize recipient who started the regional conflict in the first place. Wouldn't that be ironic (and stomach churning).
Teams pull out of WC qualifiers when their personal safety is at stake though. No need to construe it as a gov't propaganda stint. https://www.straitstimes.com/sport/...is-has-affected-sporting-events-and-athletes3 The U.S. men's hockey team withdrew from a hockey World Cup 2026 qualifier in Ismailia, Egypt after an official advisory from the State Department urging all U.S. citizens to leave nations within or close to conflict zones. As the previous article reports, multiple sporting events and leagues are suspended/postponed in the region due to the war in Iran. The IRQ squad must travel by land as Iraqi civilian airspace remains closed since Feb 28. Their coach remains in Dubai. IRQ coach Graham Arnold described IRQ's suggestions to FIFA: https://www.thenationalnews.com/spo...lls-on-fifa-to-delay-2026-world-cup-play-off/ - Bracket delay for its intercontinental playoff: let all semifinals complete this month, then have IRQ's final match at the start of June. - Give IRN more time to decide on WC participation, thus that bracket delay. If IRN declines to participate, then IRQ takes a Pot2 spot in Group G while UAE got ready for a June playoff. Ticket sales and US visas aside, all playoff matches must be played at WC venues. Each stadium will remain closed, without municipal permits for matches, before Jun 14. IRQ must decide whether it will participate before IRN does, not the other way around.
Usually, serious proposals have a bit of compromise in them. This proposal is basically 'roll out the red carpet for Iraq and push everyone else to the side'. Anyway, ball is in FIFA's hands. Let's see if there is any semblance of intelligence or impartial leadership in that organization. Clock is ticking...
As WC local organization committees and US state gov'ts struggle with frozen FEMA funding for WC Fan Festivals... Foods company Goya says present: Newark, Jersey City join 'Goya Presents Flag Cities 2026' World Cup fan festivals https://newjersey.news12.com/newark...ents-flag-cities-2026-world-cup-fan-festivals Get your tickets for "TBD vs TBD" WC Fan Fests by April: none of those fests will be held when MetLife Stadium hosts matches. What a coup! https://megabiteevents.com/flag-cities-2026-events/
At least some of those venues are places match-going fans need to pass through to get to/from Metlife stadium and NY City. Would seem to make sense to have the events on Metlife game days. For e.g. when Metlife hosts a match at 3:00p, have a fan-viewing event at Secaucus for the 6p and 9p matches later that day. Who's going to want to go the swamp lands of New Jersey (no trees or shade) at 1:00p on a summer day if you don't otherwise need to go to NJ?
Iran urges FIFA to move World Cup matches from Los Angeles and Seattle to Mexico Iran proposes to move the World Cup matches of the national football team from the United States to Mexico. "I hope that the conditions will be created in such a way that our boys can still participate in the World Cup," said Sports Minister Ahmed Donjamali according to the state news agency IRNA. The possibility to move at least the group matches has been submitted to world football association FIFA. Iran was one of the first countries to qualify for the World Cup, which will be played this summer in the US, Canada and Mexico. The group matches against New Zealand and Belgium are scheduled in Los Angeles, the duel with Egypt in Seattle. Since the outbreak of the war in Iran after American and Israeli attacks on February 28, there has been uncertainty about the country's participation. According to US President Donald Trump, "it would not be appropriate" for Iran to come to the World Cup, "for their own lives and safety." Iran responded that it is not Trump who is in charge of this, but FIFA.
If they are going to move Iran’s matches, move the Seattle one to Vancouver. No point in going over a thousand miles when there is a WC venue 140 miles away. But that begs the question, what if Iran advances to knockout phase? They will still not play in US?
I guess the point is to avoid playing in both Mexico and Canada (and flying into US airspace). But it would entail Egypt playing in Mexico, Canada and the US. Another proposal that's quite unbalanced.
Totally crazy idea that will never happen but one of the least impactful options would be to swap Iran with the TBD playoff team in Group F. Those games are all in Mexico and the playoff team obviously doesn't have fans who have bought tickets already. Both are third slot teams in their groups... Not the craziest option when you think about it.
It is due to non-compete event rules enforced by FIFA. If FIFA does not collect revenue from your NJ Fan Fest event, then you are not allowed to compete with MetLife matches. Those NJ Fan Fests were first announced in Dec 2025. Newark and Jersey City Fan Fests were last added in March 2026. Apparently, Lyndhurst will be replaced by Jersey City. https://njbiz.com/flag-cities-newark-jersey-city-2026/ Those smaller events remain unacknowledged on the FIFA NY/NJ local organizer website. Only events where tickets are sold by Ticketmaster are posted. Talk about lack of vision due to FIFA's greed. https://nynjfwc26.com/fan-zones/
New plan in place to get IRQ players safely to Mexico. IRQ coach and support staff arrived in Croatia last Tuesday. Their March training camp in Houston remains cancelled. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7115700/2026/03/13/iraq-world-cup-playoff-travel-mexico/ Sources briefed on the deal say talks have since been held with FIFA and a new plan has been devised for Iraq’s players to journey to the Jordanian capital of Amman next Friday, where they will be able to start an onward journey to Mexico 11 days out from their one-off game at the Estadio BBVA.
Actually Iran is a pot 2 team and the UEFA playoff team is currently in pot 4. So Group F would have two pot 2 teams. But yeah, there is no perfect solution. I still wonder what would happen if Iran advanced out of the group phase to a knockout match in the US. Would they forfeit and go home?
Good point. I personally think if they advanced, they would play wherever. Too much pride for any country to advance and just stop and go home. I can't see FIFA moving them anyhow... I think they're either going to come and play the current schedule or stay home.
It's not difficult to fly from Mexico to Canada without going through US airspace. You just stick to more than 13 miles off the West Coast.