Clearly, the upcoming FIFA World Cup is waaay down on this list of concerns precipitated by our current war with Iran. U.S. servicemembers have been killed, along with hundreds of Iranian civilians (including over 100 children). The attacks are not supported by the majority of Americans, and are putting strains on our military stockpiles, our economy, and relationships with our allies.
That said: are you ready for some futbol?
Shortly after the joint U.S./Israeli offensive kicked off, the Iranian soccer federation expressed (unsurprising) doubts about its ability to participate in the tournament:
Iran’s place at the men’s World Cup in three months’ time was put in doubt Monday amid an escalating Middle East conflict sparked by the soccer tournament’s co-host the United States.
Iran are due to play their three group stage games in the U.S. — two in Inglewood, California, then in Seattle — from June 15 to June 26. Cities in Canada and Mexico also will host some of the 104 games.
[…]
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Iran’s top soccer official Mehdi Taj, a vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, said.
It is unclear if the state-backed Iranian soccer federation could refuse to send its team to the 48-nation tournament that starts June 11, or the U.S. government could effectively block the team.
After the group stage games on the West Coast, Iran stands (or stood) a decent chance of advancing from Group G, which has one of the weakest top seeded teams in Belgium. A tantalizing prospect would have Iran advancing to the Round of 32 as a 2 seed, which could potentially put them against the USA (Group D), were they also to advance as a 2.
But that’s looking less and less likely. FIFA’s rules on a team withdrawing or being excluded are vague. According to Article 6.7, “FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary.” Pretty broad, as such action includes, but isn’t limited to, replacing the withdrawn/excluded team with another one.
In this case, according to ESPN, the next most likely options would be either Iraq or Saudi Arabia, who finished 9th and 10th in the Asian Football Confederation. Either of which would be a — let’s call it “stick in the eye” — to Iran.
And that’s assuming Iraq could even make it. They’re supposed to play Suriname or Bolivia on March 31 for a shot at qualifying outright. But the team is having problems getting visas (Iraq doesn’t have an embassy in Mexico), and head coach Graham Arnold is stuck in the United Arab Emirates because of airspace closures.
Of course, in the grand scheme of things, being unable to attend the World Cup is obviously pretty insignificant. We still have three months to go before the tournament starts, and there are likely to be bigger and much worse developments in the war by then.