The United States of America (USA) and Israel-led war on Iran has left the footballing world in major uncertainty, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup just a few months away.
The retaliation for the attacks has seen major countries in the Middle East, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Bahrain.
This could have an immediate impact on football as the Finalissima is set take place between Spain and Argentina later this month at the Lusail Stadium in Doha. The marquee fixture, which will see Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal face off against each other for the first time in their career major doubts as with just 27 days left for the match, Doha has faced blasts for two days in a row and the airspace over Qatar, alongside the entire Gulf region, is currently closed.
For those unversed, the Finalissima is a quadrennial match between the European and South American champions.
A report by the Spanish outlet AS has claimed that the Spanish and Argentine football associations are looking at alternative options.
FIFA World Cup Faces Major Threat
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to take place from June 11 to July 19 and is facing a major threat as things stand. This is because while the USA and Iran are at war, the former is hosting the event (alongside Canada and Mexico) and the latter is participating. In fact, Iran is scheduled to play all three games during the group stage in the USA.
Iran’s FIFA WC 2026 Schedule
| Opponent | Date | Venue |
| New Zealand | June 15 | Los Angeles |
| Belgium | June 21 | Los Angeles |
| Egypt | June 26 | Seattle |
Football’s India vs Pakistan Moment?
This puts FIFA in a precarious position, which is not usual in football. However, it is due to the political tensions in the South Asian subcontinent that cricket has often seen and the International Cricket Council (ICC) has had to deal with several times with the high voltage India-Pakistan fixtures becoming a source of controversy.
Over the last few years, the ICC has developed a hybrid model where India and Pakistan do not travel to each other’s shores and play their games at a neutral venue when one or the other is hosting an event. Could Iran’s game be shifted to Mexico or Canada? There is no such precedent in football for the same.
Ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Russia was suspended by FIFA after a recommendation from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and was unable to take part in the qualification playoffs following the country’s war with Ukraine, despite hosting the mega event in 2018. Meanwhile, the ban still remains, and they could not take part in the entire qualification pathway for the 2026 edition.
It now remains to be seen what FIFA and the IOC decide this time around.
Reports have claimed that Iran could pull out of the tournament, in which case they will be replaced by another team, likely from the same Confederation (Asian Football Confederation).
FIFA have claimed that they are monitoring the issue and expressed hope that all teams will participate as scheduled.
“I read the news [about Iran] this morning the same way you did. 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,” said FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom