Amid conflict in the Middle East, there’s confusion about whether Iran is sending its national team to the United States to compete in this year’s World Cup.
The tournament begins in less than three months, but there’s much confusion and very little clarity about the status of Iran’s participation in the World Cup.
Last week, The Guardian reported that President Donald Trump told FIFA president Gianni Infantino that Iran’s team was welcome to take part in the World Cup, but also suggested that the team not come for safety concerns.
Then, over the weekend, Iran’s sports minister released a statement that the team would not be traveling to North America to play in the tournament because of the armed conflict between his country and the United States.
But, today, Al-Jazeera reported that the Asian Football Confederation – of which Iran is a member – had not received any official confirmation that Iran had withdrawn from this year’s World Cup.
Six matches will be played at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, but none involve Iran.
The Iranian team is scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in mid-June in Los Angeles, as well as a third game in Seattle against Egypt.
