However, there is a chance – albeit a big outside one – that one of those teams could still be lining up in North America for the tournament this summer. That’s because Iran’s participation in the World Cup remains under scrutiny, as the conflict with the United States continues in the Middle East.
It’s worth stressing that the chance of this happening remains slim, but if Iran were to withdraw, FIFA would have the power to replace them with whoever they see fit. That’s according to regulation 6.7, which states: “If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”
There are very few restrictions on who FIFA could invite in Iran’s place, with the most likely route being to offer the space to the best non-qualified team from the Asian confederation, which in this case would be the United Arab Emirates. They were defeated by Iraq in the final round of Asian qualifying, but the situation in the Middle East could complicate that even further.
FIFA could choose to push forward with a three-team group, but again, that presents logistical problems that could negatively impact the tournament. For example, a selection of third-place teams will qualify for the knockouts, meaning a three-team group would complicate things in that regard.
That’s why, with fewer than three months to go until the tournament, the door remains slightly ajar for the likes of Italy and the home nations contingent. Italy, who lost on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final, probably have the best case to be parachuted in, given the Azzurri are the highest non-qualified nation in FIFA’s world rankings.
This would, of course, require Iran dropping out, and despite threats coming from the country’s bigwigs following the US-Israeli-led bombing campaign, no official withdrawal has been confirmed yet. Iran have been drawn in Group G, alongside Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt.
Source link
