Iran's 'World Cup Boycott' shock announcement, and even rumors of a 'out of the blue' replacement for China and Italy

*This content was translated by AI.

While the Iranian government's position was first announced that the Iranian national soccer team would not participate in the 2026 FIFA 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup in the aftermath of the U.S.-Israel airstrike on Iran, various speculations have continued over which team will take over if Iran's absence is finally confirmed.

Earlier, Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali said in an interview with state TV on the 12th (Korea time), "As the corrupt regime (US) assassinated our leader (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei), it is impossible to participate in the World Cup under any circumstances."

Since the U.S.-Israel airstrike on Iran began on the 28th of last month, there has been a lot of speculation over whether the Iranian national team will play in the World Cup, but this is the first time an Iranian government official has directly announced a "World Cup Boycott."

Amid the ongoing war, it is unclear whether the Iranian national soccer team will be able to participate in the World Cup itself, and the Iranian government is also believed to have decided to boycott the World Cup as the entire group league match between Iran, which belongs to Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, is scheduled to be held in the United States.

If Iran's absence from the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup is also confirmed at the FIFA level, it will remain a case in which the team that advanced to the finals will give up participating in the tournament after the draw for the World Cup finals for the first time in 76 years since the 1950 Brazil tournament.

With the opening of the World Cup less than 100 days away, FIFA's priority is to find a team to replace Iran. In fact, FIFA has the right to decide on the replacement team, as there are no clear regulations related to the replacement team if a team that does not participate in the tournament comes out, but only a rule that requires the maximum action at FIFA's discretion.

In the process, the elimination of the World Cup finals has been confirmed at all, or the possibility of teams participating in the "falsely" that have left the intercontinental or continental playoffs has been raised one after another.

Even with the number of countries advancing to the World Cup finals expanded from 32 to 48, the possibility of China's alternative participation, which failed to pass the Asian qualifying round, is being raised. China is not giving up hope even though there is no "justification" considering not only the elimination of the World Cup qualifiers but also the FIFA ranking. In the background, there is no clear regulation on the replacement team, so FIFA has the right to decide completely, and considering sponsors and box office success, China also has a possibility.

However, China's participation in the World Cup is likely to end in vain, as the possibility of China's advance to the World Cup finals, which has already been eliminated from the preliminary round, is inevitable at the FIFA level. Instead, for now, the weight is on that alternative teams will come out for teams ahead of the World Cup playoffs.

The most likely is Iraq, the only country in Asia to face an intercontinental playoff. Iraq will play the winner of the Bolivia-Suri South match and the intercontinental playoff pass 2 final to decide whether to advance to the World Cup finals. If the qualification due to Iran's boycott remains in the AFC, Iraq, which is at the highest level, is likely to qualify.

Some predict that the right to participate may return to Italy, which has the highest FIFA ranking among teams participating in the World Cup playoffs, not limited to AFC. Italy will play with Northern Ireland, Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Playoff Pass A without qualifying for the World Cup and will only reach the finals if they win the final round.

There is only Belgium in Group G of the World Cup, so it is not against the rule that a European team can belong to a maximum of two teams in a group, but controversy is inevitable as the tickets allocated to Asia head to Europe. Renee Muilestin, the head coach of the Iraqi national soccer team, who is currently considered the most likely "alternative team for Iran," said in a recent interview with talk sports, "There are rumors that FIFA could push Italy as an alternative team for Iran."

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*This content was translated by AI.