Iran at the World Championships in the USA. FIFA imposed a ban, there are strong reactions!
Iran will start playing in the FIFA World Cup on the night from Monday to Tuesday (i.e. June 15-16). The Iranians will play all their matches in the US in the group stage.
In the context of the Iranian national team’s presence at the FIFA World Cup, it is simply impossible to move away from political topics. Even more so after the way the Iranians were treated by their hosts. It was only in the last week of May that the Iranian team received information about the possibility of staying – the so-called tournament base – in Mexico.
Previously, American representatives had clearly denied the Iranians such an option.
Iran at the 2026 World Cup. Hot atmosphere and political threads around football
The Iranian team will be able to appear in the USA for only one day – during each of the three group stage matches. Each time, Iranians will need special visas. Paradoxically, in the United States, the Iranian team can count on a really large group of fans. The Iranian diaspora, i.e. people who most often left the country during the revolution, will want to support their players. This will be especially visible during two matches in Los Angeles – against New Zealand (i.e. June 16, 3:00 a.m. Polish time) and Belgium (June 21, 9:00 p.m.).
Additionally, the Iranians will play against Egypt in Seattle (27/06, 5:00).
FIFA’s actions certainly do not reduce political tensions around the Iranian team. The international football federation has banned, among other things, bringing the revolutionary Iranian flag with the symbols of a lion and a sun to the stands.
However, the decisions made by the football headquarters during the 2026 World Cup do not differ from what happened earlier in the context of FIFA. Moreover, UEFA – led by its boss – managed to make a sad impact during this year’s World Cup, more about which below.
The Iranians also faced some provocations on the streets after arriving in Los Angeles. And this proves that during a football competition, things can be “interesting” in the stands.
World Cup 2026. Where and when to watch the greatest football World Cup in history?
From June 11 to July 19, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will be held on pitches in three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada. An event that will certainly be unique, if only because of its format. For the first time in history, as many as 48 teams will take part in the main tournament.
The title from four years ago is defended by the Argentines. During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Lionel Messi and company defeated the French in the final, winning after a series of penalties (4:2). In the history of football World Cups, Brazil has the most titles – as many as five. Four victories in the history of the World Championships belong to the Italians and Germans. The Argentines won three times. More than once, the trophy for winning the World Cup was raised – twice – by the players of France and Uruguay. The Polish national team was third twice at the World Championships, but those were the old days – we are talking about the events in 1974 and 1982. At the last World Cup, Poles managed to advance to the knockout phase, but were eliminated in the 1/8 finals by the French (1:3).
Matches of the 2026 World Cup can only be watched on Polish Television – on TVP Sport, TVP 1 and TVP 2 and on tvpsport.pl. Additionally, broadcasts will be available in the TVP Sport mobile application and smart TV.
