Iran’s national football team was headed to Türkiye on Monday to play a final friendly match and apply for visas to travel to the United States for the 2026 World Cup, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
The team plans to participate in the tournament despite co-host Washington having launched a war against Iran involving a massive wave of attacks alongside ally Israel on February 28.
The fighting has been on hold for weeks due to a ceasefire, but peace talks have failed to achieve a breakthrough. Meanwhile, new drone attacks against Gulf countries over the weekend, combined with threats from US President Donald Trump, have raised concerns about a possible return to hostilities.
The team “departed this morning for Antalya, Türkiye to play its final friendly match before flying to the United States for the 2026 World Cup,” accordign to the Tasnim news agency.
It added that the squad consists of 22 domestically based players along with their coaching staff.
On Saturday, head coach Amir Ghalenoei said the team would also complete visa applications for the United States while in Türkiye.
Iran secured its place at the World Cup in March 2025, but since then the United States has twice launched attacks on the country.
US officials have stated that Iran is welcome at the tournament, while FIFA, the organiser, has confirmed the event will go ahead as planned and rejected Iranian suggestions to move their matches to co-hosts Mexico or Canada.
“I think let ’em play,” US President Donald Trump said in late April.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that any potential issue would not be with Iranian players, but rather “some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them,” suggesting possible links to the Revolutionary Guards, which Washington has designated as a terrorist organisation.
Last month, officials from Iran’s football federation withdrew from a FIFA congress trip in Canada, saying they had been “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers.
