Plans to move Iran's World Cup 2026 matches to Mexico 'denied by FIFA' after Donald Trump comments

Iran will not play their World Cup 2026 group stage fixtures in Mexico, according to new information from FIFA.

Reported talks between Iran and FIFA to prevent the Iranian team playing in the United States are understood to have come to nothing, with the global governing body expected to keep Iran's fixtures north of the Mexican border.

The World Cup will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July. Iran's three Group G fixtures are scheduled to be played in Los Angeles and Seattle.

Trump doesn't believe it's 'appropriate' for Iran to play in the World Cup

Trump has forcefully inserted the leading host nation into the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, making the idea of the United States hosting a tournament for which Iran qualified on merit extremely complicated.

Having been invited to influence world football by Gianni Infantino, the official charged with protecting it, Trump is in direct military conflict with Iran and also having a say on their World Cup participation.

His incendiary comments about Iran include a typically duplicitous remark on social media about the team being 'welcome' to play their games in the United States but that it is 'not appropriate' for their 'life and safety'.

Iranian FA president Mehdi Taj posted on social media: "When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America. We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico."

The Mirror reports that those talks have concluded with no agreement to move the games from the United States to Mexico, with games against Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt now hanging in the balance.

"Not long after Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in an airstrike, the country's sports minister insinuated they would not compete in this summer's competition across the USA, Mexico and Canada," reports the Mirror.

"However, no official decision has been made on the Middle Eastern nation's presence at the World Cup, with FIFA insisting they are still expected to play two of their group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle."

Iran qualified for World Cup 2026 with relative ease, qualifying automatically as the winners of Group A in the third round of AFC qualifying, their first opportunity to book their berth for the finals.

They finished ahead of second-placed Uzbekistan, who also qualified, and the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. UAE were eliminated in the play-offs but Qatar will play in both the United States and Canada after qualifying and being drawn into Group B.

Should Iran withdraw entirely – another outcome that has been reported since the beginning of the war – FIFA will be the ultimate arbiter when it comes to identifying the team to replace them.