Fifa World Cup 2026: What you need to know about Iran

Now give me some proper detail

Even when they’re not at war with the hosts, the nature of the Iranian regime means there is noise whenever the national football team plays.

The treatment of protestors led to calls for Iran to be banned from Qatar 2022. Before they played England, the Iranian players refused to sing their national anthem.

Iran in the USA was always going to be problematic, but the draw didn’t help. Prior to the ceremony last winter, the City of Seattle announced that one of its fixtures would be a “Pride Match” to coincide with the city’s LGBTQ+ festival. The two sides drawn to play that game were Iran, where homosexuality is illegal, and Egypt. To date, the teams remain reluctant festival participants.

In January, several domestic Iranian footballers were among those killed during anti-regime protests. Talismanic forward Mehdi Taremi expressed his solidarity. Players from the Iran women’s team then sought asylum in Australia after refusing to sing the national anthem at their Asian Cup.

And then, war. Striker Sardar Azmoun lost his place in the World Cup squad for posting a picture of himself with the ruler of Dubai while Iran and the UAE were bombing each other.

Incidentally, the draw threw up one more piece of mischief – if both Iran and the USA finish second in their respective groups, they will meet in Dallas on 3 July.