Iran qualify for 2026 World Cup amid potential Trump travel ban

Mehdi Taremi scored both goals for Iran on Tuesday, securing their qualification.Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Iran have become the sixth team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup thanks to their 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran on Tuesday. Iran join Japan and New Zealand as the first countries to have punched their ticket via the usual qualification process, while co-hosts United States, Mexico and Canada qualified automatically.

Internazionale striker Mehdi Taremi was largely to thank for Team Melli’s accomplishment on Tuesday, scoring both goals in an otherwise sloppy performance from Iran. The Iranian defense let in two soft goals from Uzbekistan, who can guarantee their place at the World Cup with a victory in either of their two remaining qualifiers.

Tuesday’s result means Iran are guaranteed to finish in the top two of Group A in the third qualifying of AFC qualifying, earning them passage to the team’s fourth World Cup finals in a row, and seventh in their history. It stands as a major accomplishment for Iran, even as qualifying from Asia has been made easier thanks to the World Cup’s newly expanded, 48-team format.

However, the country’s current relations with the United States, which will be host the bulk of the tournament’s games, could make it hard, if not impossible for Iran’s fans and potentially even players and staff, to travel to the country for the games.

In a recent memo, the issuing of which was reported by Reuters, Iran was listed among 41 countries that would face partial or complete bans on citizens entering the United States by the Donald Trump administration. Iran specifically is listed among a group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Syria, Cuba and North Korea, that would be set for a full visa suspension.

That memo was issued after a 20 January executive order that required increased vetting of foreign nationals from countries deemed to be a national security threat. That list is almost certain to include Iran, as did Trump’s 2017 ban on predominantly Muslim countries.

Despite the co-hosting arrangement with Mexico and Canada, it is extremely likely that Iran would be scheduled to play within the United States when the 2026 World Cup comes around. At present, only one spot at the tournament (The third-seeded team in Group A) would allow for the possibility of a non-host team to play all of their group games outside the United States. That spot would play all three group games in Mexico, with the second game coming against the home country. Iran could only avoid playing in the United States by winning Group A, and would continue to play games in Mexico until moving to Miami for the quarter-finals.

Iran, however, have never made it out of the group stage at the World Cup. They came the closest to doing so at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where a 1-1 draw with Portugal on the last day of group play was enough to keep them out of the round of 16. That was followed up at the 2022 World Cup when a 1-0 loss to the United States eliminated Iran when a draw would have seen them through to the knockout stages.

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