Fifa monitoring Iran situation as All Whites World Cup opener at risk

The Fifa World Cup is 100 days away but whether Iran will take part, including their opening game against New Zealand, appears in doubt following the US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.

The All Whites are set to open their first World Cup campaign since 2010 against Iran on June 16 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The teams were put in Group G at the Fifa World Cup draw in December, the same event where Fifa awarded US President Donald Trump the inaugural peace prize. The USA is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

According to reports, Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj has said attending a tournament co-hosted by the United States may now be “inappropriate” following the “all-out” missile attack on Iran over the weekend.

All three of Iran’s Group G games take place in the US, in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Iran are currently ranked 20th in the world, the second-highest ranked team in the Group G, which also includes Belgium (ninth) and Egypt (31). New Zealand are ranked 85th.

Iran have played at six World Cups but have never progressed from the group stages. Their most famous win was a 2-1 victory over the USA at France 1998. The two nations met again in 2022, with the US winning 1-0 in Doha.

Iran qualified for the World Cup after topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying. One possible outcome if Iran withdraw or are banned from the World Cup is their place in Group G is replaced by Iraq, who earned a spot in the Inter-confederation play-offs, which take place later this month.

Iraq beat United Arab Emirates in the fifth round of qualifying, so are the next highest-ranked team in Asia. As it stands, Iraq will play the winner of Bolivia v Suriname on March 31 for a spot in the Fifa World Cup.

UAE could instead replace Iraq in that Inter-confederation play-off tournament, with Iraq moving into Group G.

Fifa has yet to confirm what will happen but is monitoring the situation in Iran.

“I read the news [about Iran] this morning the same way you did,” Fifa secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said on Sunday.

“We had a meeting today and it is premature to comment in detail, but we will monitor developments around all issues around the world.

“We had the finals draw in Washington in which all teams participated, and our focus is on a safe World Cup with all the teams participating.

“We will continue to communicate as we always do with three [host] governments as we always do in any case. Everybody will be safe.”