Iran World Cup OUT→FIFA Unprecedented 'Great Reversal Scenario'... "Surprise" is likely to join this team in Asia

*This content was translated by AI.

FIFA was also confused as Iran officially announced its absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Korea and China. Currently, FIFA is in the mood to revise the World Cup scenario with about three months left.

According to a report by US media 'CBS Sports' on the 12th (Korea Standard Time), Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Doniamali announced on a state-run broadcast the day before, "I cannot participate in the World Cup under any circumstances."

The death of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a joint military operation between the United States and Israel last month is a decisive reason. "The corrupt regime assassinated our leader, and the Iranian people are not safe, so the conditions for participation in the World Cup do not exist," Minister Donia Mali stressed.

With Iran's declaration of absence, FIFA faced two options. The first is to operate Group G, which includes Iran, in a three-team system. In this case, the number of matches played by New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt will be reduced.

However, in this case, there could be a controversy over equity due to the regulations on advancing to the tournament of the top eight teams among the third-place teams in each group introduced by expanding to 48 countries from the North-China World Cup. Third place in Group G, where only three teams play, is at a disadvantage because there are fewer chances to accumulate points compared to third place in other groups.

The second option is to select an alternative team to replace Iran. "CBS Sports" analyzed, "FIFA is likely to choose one of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) countries to maintain continental quotas."

The leading candidate is Iraq. Iraq had the best performance among the teams that missed the straight ticket to the finals in the final Asian qualifying round and has now secured a berth in the intercontinental playoff (PO).

However, it is also unclear whether Iraq will be able to carry out its normal schedule in the aftermath of the war. Iraq is required to play a World Cup intercontinental PO with Bolivia or Suriname in Mexico, but the war has closed its airspace until April 1. In response, Graham Arnold, head coach of the Iraqi national team, insisted that "Iraq should succeed to the direct rights without Iran," but requested FIFA to postpone the PO schedule.

If Iraq succeeds Iran, another Asian country dramatically advances into the intercontinental PO. According to foreign media analysis such as 'CBS Sports', there is a high possibility that PO vacancies will return to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

However, FIFA has not made an official statement on Iran's absence so far. Instead, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has only issued an existing statement that he met with U.S. President Donald Trump to encourage Iran to participate. President Trump previously said, "We welcome the Iranian team to the United States," but FIFA's agony deepened as the Iranian government refused to do so.

Initially, Iran was scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium at Inglewood SoFi Stadium in the U.S. on June 15 and 21, respectively, and play Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle on the 26th. Iran's declaration of absence, which came just over three months before the opening of the World Cup, forced a major revision of the finals table.

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*This content was translated by AI.