“Iran will be in the World Cup,” the president of the World Cup assured AFP this Tuesday. FIFA, Gianni Infantinopresent in Antalya, in the south of Turkey, in a friendly match of the Iranian team against Costa Rica, adding that it will play its first phase matches in the United States, as determined by the draw held in December.
“We are here for this. We are happy because it is a very, very strong team. I am very happy,” added the skipper of the world football during the break of the game.
“I have seen the team, I have spoken with the players, with the coach, so everything is going well,” added Infantino, specifying that “the matches will be played where they have to be played, according to the draw.”
Two games in Los Angeles and one in Seattle
Iran had asked to play its matches in the first phase of the tournament (from June 11 to July 19) in Mexico and not in the United States, as determined by the draw.
According to the official calendar, in the first phase of the World Cup Iran will have to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and then Egypt in Seattle.
Their base camp for the tournament is planned for Tucson, Arizona.
The FIFA president, whose presence in Antalya had not been announced, settled in the stands shortly before the start of the match and posed for photos with several members of the Iranian federation, an AFP journalist confirmed.
Trump’s mixed messages
In mid-March, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, indicated that he was negotiating with FIFA so that Iran’s matches would be played in Mexico and not on American soil, as planned.
Ruling out any changes – when even Donald Trump considered that Iranian players would not be “safe” in the United States – FIFA had stressed that the competition “would be held as planned.”
Trump, in one of his contradictory messages, had declared two days earlier that Iranian players would be welcome despite the conflict.
“It will be the largest and safest sporting event in the history of the United States. All players, authorities and fans will be treated like the ‘STARS’ they are!” he said on his Truth Social platform.
On February 28, Israel and the United States launched a broad offensive against the Islamic Republic, which has responded with waves of missiles and drones against Israeli territory and against American targets in countries in the region.
In December, on the occasion of the World Cup draw, Infantino created a FIFA peace prize and awarded it to Trump, with whom he maintains a close relationship.
“Pain of war”
This Tuesday, Infantino appeared at the Antalya stadium and took a photo with several members of the Iranian federation, an AFP journalist confirmed.
“I really hope they go to the World Cup. It will be something great for the Iranian people after all that pain from the war,” declared Amir Moghaddam, a 64-year-old neurosurgeon who went to Antalya to support Team Melli, before kick-off in the stands.
“But I don’t know if the Iranian government will let them go to the United States because there will be demonstrations by Iranians opposed to the authorities,” he added.
Asked by AFP before the match between Iran and Costa Rica about Team Melli’s chances of participating in the next World Cup, Dennis Eckert Ayensa, one of the forwards, responded: “Inshallah” (“God willing”).
