Will Iran play at the World Cup 2026 in America and who could replace them?

Iran qualified for the World Cup last year and are due to play three games in America this summer (Picture: Getty) Iran’s participation at this summer’s World Cup has been thrown into major doubt  after joint US-Israel attacks sparked chaos across the region. Team Melli qualified for this summer’s tournament last year and are scheduled to play three games in Group G against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, all due to be staged in America. The fallout from Saturday’s ‘pre-emptive’ military effort, which resulted in the death of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, are being felt all over the Middle East. Iran’s retaliation prompted reports of strikes in several Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Richard Keys was dramatically forced off the air yesterday after explosions where heard close to the beIN Sports studio in Qatar. Graeme Souness, meanwhile, is among the British citizens trapped in the Middle East. The former Rangers and Liverpool manager posted two videos on Instagram from Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi as he attempted to return to the UK. ‘I’m hearing some pretty loud bangs go off and that is anti-missiles taking out missiles that have been fired at some American bases,’ said Souness in the opening video. {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Drone strike hits Dubai International Airport prompting evacuation","duration":"T25S","thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2026\/02\/28\/22\/106761425-0-image-a-25_1772316483067.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-02-28T22:07:03+0000","description":"An Iranian missile struck Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport.","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/03\/01\/7355455720463839359\/480x270_MP4_7355455720463839359.mp4","height":480,"width":270} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); An update then followed, with the 72-year-old saying: ‘Flight’s been cancelled, still hearing explosions so we’ve given up, we’re just going to check into a hotel for a couple of nights and see where we are. ‘Hopefully things will settle down and we’ll get back on the flight. ‘You get grumpy when you get delays and stuff at airports but I think we should think of people that maybe this time are dying.’ Will Iran play at the World Cup? Iran have been draw in Group G at the World Cup (Credits: REUTERS) With instability and political tension in the region likely to remain for many months, the prospect of Iran competing at the World Cup has been thrown into doubt. A squad which contains the likes of Olympiacos striker Mehdi Taremi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nasr teammate Mehdi Ghayedi, had been slated to play two matches in Los Angeles and another in Seattle. A final decision is yet to be taken but a statement issued yesterday intimated that Iran could well pull out and leave one spot up for grabs. Speaking on Tehran (Iranian public television) Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj said: ‘With what happened today and with that attack by the United States, it is unlikely that we can look forward to the World Cup, but the sports chiefs are the ones who must decide on that.’ Who could replace Iran at the World Cup? Iraq still have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup (Picture: Getty) Iraq are due to compete in a continental play-off against Bolivia or Suriname later this month with a place at the World Cup up for grabs. At this stage, the most likely scenario, should Iran withdraw, would see Iraq take their place with the United Arab Emirates replacing them in the play-offs. FIFA is carefully monitoring the situation and will act accordingly in liaison with the governments of America and fellow World Cup hosts Mexico and Canada. ‘I read the news [about Iran] this morning the same way you did,’ said general secretary Mattias Grafstrom. ‘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.’