In a surprise, unannounced appearance at an international friendly match in Antalya, Turkey on Tuesday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has definitively confirmed that Iran’s men’s national football team will take part in the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and will play all three of its Group G matches in the U.S. as originally drawn, even amid ongoing regional conflict involving Iran.
Infantino made the remarks during half-time of Iran’s lopsided 5-0 friendly win over non-qualifier Costa Rica, a warm-up for the global tournament that comes as questions have swirled around Iran’s World Cup participation following the outbreak of cross-regional war between Iran, the U.S. and Israel that began on February 28.
“Iran will be at the World Cup. That’s why we’re here. We’re delighted because they’re a very, very strong team, I’m very happy,” Infantino told Agence France-Presse during his visit. “I’ve seen the team, I’ve spoken to the players and the coach, so everything is fine. Iran’s matches will be played where they are supposed to be, according to the draw.”
The 48-team 2026 World Cup is scheduled to kick off across the three North American host nations on June 11. Under the original tournament draw, Iran is set to open its Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, face Belgium in the same city on June 21, and wrap up group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 27.
Iran’s place in the tournament, and the location of its matches, had been thrown into uncertainty in the weeks following the outbreak of the conflict, which has already seen a deadly mistaken U.S. airstrike on a primary school in the southern Iranian city of Minab on the first day of the war. The strike killed at least 170 civilians, including dozens of schoolchildren and teachers, and preliminary findings from a U.S. military inquiry published by The New York Times confirm the strike was caused by a targeting error that hit the school with a Tomahawk cruise missile. Before Tuesday’s friendly, Iran’s players wore black armbands and posed with photographs of the young victims of the attack to honor their memory.
Weeks prior to Infantino’s announcement, the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) confirmed it had entered negotiations with FIFA to request relocating Iran’s group stage matches from the U.S. to Mexico, a move Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country stood ready to facilitate if required. The situation grew more muddled after conflicting remarks from U.S. President Donald Trump: Trump initially offered assurances to FIFA that the Iranian team would be welcome to enter the U.S. for the tournament, before reversing course to say Iran should not send its team “for their own life and safety.” Iranian officials immediately pushed back against Trump’s comments, insisting no governing body or nation had the authority to exclude Iran from the global competition.
Mahdi Mohammadnabi, vice president of the FFIRI, told reporters at Tuesday’s friendly that his organization remains committed to abiding by FIFA’s regulatory framework. “For us, what matters most are FIFA’s rules and regulations. We will comply with whatever FIFA decides. Every host country has made commitments to FIFA and must honour them,” he said.
Mohammadnabi added that Infantino’s unscheduled stop in Antalya came after the FIFA president learned Iran was staging warm-up friendlies in the Turkish resort town while en route from Mexico to Qatar. “Having learnt that we were organising friendly matches here, he came to see us in person, and we had a fruitful discussion,” Mohammadnabi said. “Given our history in this competition, it is only natural that FIFA should support the Iranian team. Mr Infantino is providing the necessary support to our national team and has given our players a great boost.”
On the pitch, Iran turned in a dominant performance against Costa Rica, who failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Captain Mehdi Taremi scored two first-half penalties, while additional goals from Ali Gholizadeh and Mohammad Mohebbi put Iran up 4-0 by the half-time break. Second-half substitute Mehdi Ghayedi rounded out the scoring with a fifth goal in the 51st minute, after which head coach Amir Ghalenoei rotated his squad to give reserve players minutes. The match marked Iran’s second warm-up friendly in Turkey in a week, following a 5-0 win over Nigeria in Belek last Friday. When asked before the match whether Iran would ultimately compete in the World Cup, Iran backup striker Dennis Eckert Ayensa simply replied “Inshallah” — meaning “god willing” in Arabic.