Doubt persists around the participation of Team Melli in the 2026 World Cup which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The president of the Iranian federation, Mehdi Taj, declared on Wednesday that he had no intention of boycotting the World Cup. The Iranian selection will take advantage of the international window to participate in an internship in Türkiye with a view to preparing for the competition.
“We are preparing for the World Cup. We are boycotting the United States, we are not boycotting the World Cup,” Taj said in a video broadcast by the Iranian Fars news agency.
Since the start of the war launched jointly by the United States and Israel against Iran on February 28, Iranian leaders have multiplied declarations, sometimes contradictory, on the arrival of the national team at the World Cup while Team Melli must play its three first round matches on American soil.
Mexico ready to welcome the Iranian selection
After threatening a boycott of the competition, Iranian officials now say they are ready to take part in the tournament but not in the United States. The Iranian embassy in Mexico said Monday that the Iranian Federation was negotiating with Fifa to play its matches in Mexico. Asked about this, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded on Tuesday that her country was ready to welcome Team Melli.
Fifa had indicated that it was “in regular contact with all participating federations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, in order to discuss planning” for the World Cup. But she did not confirm the possibility of a relocation of the matches from Iran, even saying “to be delighted” to see all the selections “play the tournament in accordance with the match schedule announced on December 6, 2025”.
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