Players of Iran celebrate after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. [Fatemeh Bahrami - Anadolu Agency]
Players of Iran celebrate after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]
Iran has become one of the first nations to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but its football team and its entourage could face issues travelling to the United States where most of the games will be held.
On Tuesday, Iran’s football team scored a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium, making it the sixth team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which is set to be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
Aside from those three countries which automatically qualified due to their hosting positions, the other countries that were among the first qualifiers were Japan and New Zealand.
The participation of the Iranian team – and particularly its coaches, security details, other accompanying officials, as well as fans – in the games has been increasingly speculated upon, though, specifically due to the strained nature of relations between Tehran and Washington.
As the US is set to host the bulk of the matches, many fear that the administration of President Donald Trump could make it difficult or even impossible for the Iranian team, its entourage and fans to travel to the US by issuing visa restrictions.
Such concerns come particularly after a recent Trump administration memo – issued after a 20 January executive order – was revealed by Reuters news agency to have listed Iran among 41 countries that would face partial or complete bans on citizens entering the US. Narrowing it down, Tehran was further grouped alongside nine other countries that would be subject to a full visa suspension, including Afghanistan, Syria, Cuba and North Korea.
That is, however, expected to be determined by ongoing efforts to foster talks between the US and Iran, with the aim of reaching a new nuclear agreement. Until now, those efforts have stalled due to disagreements, with Tehran saying it will not engage in direct talks with Washington without changes to the terms of a new agreement.
READ: Is the new US approach to Iran a pragmatic turn?