JUMP TO:
- Are Iran banned from the World Cup?
- Why was Iran denied visas for World Cup draw in USA?
- Iran World Cup visa issues
- How did Iran qualify for World Cup 2026?
- Iran national team roster
- Iran World Cup history
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup fast approaching, the list of qualified teams is beginning to take shape. As of the end of the October international break, 28 of the 48 spots have been secured.
Global sporting events often highlight cultural and political differences, but the spirit of competition is meant to transcend them. Still, tensions can arise when countries with strained relations face each other on the field.
Such concerns have emerged ahead of this tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With Iran having qualified, questions have been raised about their participation due to ongoing political tensions with the host nations.
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Are Iran banned from the World Cup?
From a competitive perspective, Iran have not been banned from participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They qualified for the competition through the AFC's competitive process and are in the field of 48 teams to participate in the tournament.
However, their ability to participate in the event from a logistical perspective has been called into question.
According to a report by Iranian publication the Tehran Times, as cited by, the Sports Business Journal in early October, the Iranian national team delegation was denied travel visas for attendance at the World Cup draw in December.
This is not ultimately expected to be a major concern for the tournament itself. FIFA vice president and CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani said shortly after the report was made public that he is not concerned about Iran's — or any nation's — eventual participation in the tournament itself.
"We already have assurances from all three governments [the U.S., Canada and Mexico]...that teams that qualify will be allowed to come in and participate,” Montagliani said during a conference in London.
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Why was Iran denied visas for World Cup draw in USA?
It is not publicly known why Iran were denied visas for entry into the United States for the World Cup draw, as the State Department refused to comment, according to a Sports Business Journal report, citing visa record confidentiality.
However, it is likely that U.S. President Donald Trump's recent immigration policy is at the core of the denials.
Iran is among 12 countries listed by the U.S. State Department as nations from which incoming travel to the United States is effectively banned, while seven other countries face travel restrictions to the U.S.
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Iran World Cup visa issues
According to reports abroad, Iran were unable to successfully acquire visas for attendance at the World Cup draw in December.
The draw will take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C.
It is common that participating nations send a delegation to the event, to provide a conduit from which to support the country's draw into the tournament and celebrate their participation in the World Cup.
MORE: How does the FIFA World Cup draw work?
President Trump United States travel ban
On Monday, June 9, President Donald Trump's so-called travel ban came into effect in the United States. Under the legislation, travel to the U.S. is banned from 12 countries, with national security concerns cited.
These countries are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
There are also seven countries — Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela — whose nationals face partial travel restrictions.
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How did Iran qualify for World Cup 2026?
Iran qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup via the competitive procedures in place in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
As the second-highest FIFA-ranked nation in the AFC at world No. 22 at the time qualifying commenced, they were placed in Pot 1 and given a bye to the second round of the competition along with other top Asian nations such as Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia.
They finished atop their second-round group of four teams, with the top two finishers qualifying for the next stage. Iran finished first, level on points with Uzbekistan, while Turkmenistan and Hong Kong were eliminated.
In the next stage, they were placed into Group A, with the top two finishers in the six-team group qualifying directly for the World Cup, while the third and fourth place finishers advanced to the playoff round. Iran once again finished first in the standings, with Uzbekistan again finishing right on their heels two points back.
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Group A standings — AFC World Cup qualifying third round
| Pos | Nation | GP | Pts | W-D-L | GD |
| 1. | Iran | 10 | 23 | 7-2-1 | +11 |
| 2. | Uzbekistan | 10 | 21 | 6-3-1 | +7 |
| 3. | UAE | 10 | 15 | 4-3-3 | +7 |
| 4. | Qatar | 10 | 13 | 4-1-5 | -7 |
| 5. | Kyrgyzstan | 10 | 8 | 2-2-6 | -6 |
| 6. | North Korea | 10 | 3 | 0-3-7 | -12 |
Iran national team roster
The most well-known player in the national team setup is Medhi Taremi, once of Inter Milan and now with Greek side Olympiacos.
The captain of the national team is Alireza Jahanbakhsh who is currently unattached to a club but has in the past played for Premier League side Brighton as well as Dutch clubs Feyenoord, AZ Alkmaar, NEC, and Heerenveen. He and Taremi are both nearing 100 international caps.
The following players were called in to the national team for October friendlies against Russia and Tanzania. Of the 24 players called in, 16 of them play for clubs domestically in Iran, largely from the two biggest sides Persepolis and Tractor, while others hail from clubs in Russia, Belgium, UAE, and Greece.
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Iran squad list
Goalkeepers: Mohammad Akhbari (Sepahan, IRN), Alireza Beiranvand (Tractor, IRN), Mohammad Khalife (Aluminium Arak, IRN), Payam Niazmand (Persepolis, IRN).
Defenders: Hossein Abarghouei (Persepolis, IRN), Dannial Esmaeilifar (Tractor, IRN), Amin Hazbavi (Sepahan, IRN), Shojae Khalilzadeh (Tractor, IRN), Milad Mohammadi (Persepolis, IRN), Ali Nemati (Foolad, IRN), Omid Noorafkan (Sepahan, IRN), Ramin Rezaeian (Esteghlal, IRN), Aria Yousefi (Sepahan, IRN), Mohammad Zare (Akhmat Grozny, RUS).
Midfielders: Saeid Ezatolahi (Shabab Al Ahli, UAE), Saman Ghoddos (Ittihad Kalba, UAE), Mohammad Ghorbani (Al Wahda, UAE), Mehdi Hashemnejad (Tractor, IRN), Mohammad Hosseinnejad (Dynamo Makhachkala, RUS), Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh (Tractor, IRN), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (unattached), Mohammad Khodabandelou (Persepolis, IRN), Mohammad Mohebi (Rostov, RUS), Allahyar Sayyadmanesh (Westerlo, BEL).
Forwards: Ali Alipour (Persepolis, IRN), Kasra Taheri (Paykan, IRN), Mehdi Taremi (Olympiacos, GRE).
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Iran World Cup history
Prior to the 2026 tournament, Iran have participated in six different FIFA World Cup finals.
They did not enter qualifying until 1974, failing to reach the tournament in West Germany, but made their first appearance in 1978 in Argentina.
Political unrest saw Iran ineligible for the next two tournaments, and they did not qualify for the subsequent two which included the last World Cup in the U.S. in 1994, finally reappearing on the World Cup stage in 1998 in France. Since that time, they have qualified for six of the last eight tournaments, including 2026.
Iran have never progressed out of the group stage at a World Cup final.
| Year | Host | Stage reached |
| 1978 | Argentina | Group Stage |
| 1998 | France | Group Stage |
| 2006 | Germany | Group Stage |
| 2014 | Brazil | Group Stage |
| 2018 | Russia | Group Stage |
| 2022 | Qatar | Group Stage |
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