The Iranian football team is set to miss the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 after the country’s sports minister said they will not participate following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a strike carried out by the United States during the ongoing conflict involving Israel.

Iran’s Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali said on state television that the national team cannot take part in the tournament under the current circumstances. The 2026 World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and all of Iran’s group stage matches were scheduled to be held in US cities.

“Considering that this corrupt ⁠regime [the US] has ⁠assassinated our leader, under no circumstances ⁠can we ⁠participate in ⁠the World Cup,” Donyamali was quoted as saying on state TV by Reuters.

The withdrawal comes just hours after the
FIFA president Gianni Infantino met with Donald Trump and confirmed that the United States has no problem with Iran participating in the tournament.

Who could replace Iran?

Now that Iran are officially out of the FIFA World Cup, a team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) will most likely take their place. Two teams are in the picture right now – the United Arab Emirates and Iraq. While the UAE’s chances are entirely dependent on Iran’s withdrawal, Iraq could still play in the tournament even if Iran had not withdrawn.

The UAE could be the first option to step in as Iran’s replacement as the second-highest-ranked side in the region after Iraq. Meanwhile, Iraq have an inter-confederation play-off match scheduled against the winner of the Bolivia vs Suriname semi-final. If Iraq win the play-offs, they will qualify directly. Otherwise, they will likely enter the tournament as Iran’s replacement because they are ranked ahead of the UAE.

Another possibility is that FIFA could directly select the highest-ranked team in the world rankings that did not qualify for the tournament. In that case, Italy has been mentioned as a possible replacement.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently met with United States President Donald Trump to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is slated to be co-hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico in June-July.

In a statement released after the meeting, the FIFA boss revealed that he also talked about the ongoing conflict in West Asia, where the US and Israel are fighting an all-out war against Iran, which killed its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Also Read:
Iran to skip FIFA World Cup 2026 after US attacks? Football federation chief responds

Apparently, Trump has told Infantino that he has no problem with Iran playing in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the United States.

“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” a FIFA statement read.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino:

“This evening, I met with the President of the 🇺🇸 United States, Donald J. Trump to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days.
 
“We also spoke about…

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) March 11, 2026

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set on June 11. Iran’s men’s team has already qualified for the competition and has three group matches scheduled in the United States. They will first play against New Zealand in Inglewood, California on June 15. After that, they will face Belgium on June 21. Iran will then play their final group match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Also Read:
Trump pressure delivers as Australia grants asylum to five Iranian women’s football players

The current FIFA president is considered very close to Trump, for whom he even introduced a new award called the ‘FIFA Peace Prize.’ Infantino himself presented the award to Trump during the World Cup final draw in Washington DC late last year. He probably didn’t know at the time the same man would go on to approve the kidnapping of Venezuela’s president and the killing of Iran’s leader in the weeks to come.

Meanwhile, it was just last week that Trump told Politico, “I really don’t care,” when he was asked about Iran’s participation in the World Cup. Iran was the only country that missed out on attending the FIFA planning summit held last week in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see if Iran takes a stand against going to the US for the World Cup or if the team goes and makes political statements.

Iranian players during the AFC Women’s Asian Cup Australia 2026 football match between Iran and the Philippines on the Gold Coast on March 8, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has withdrawn from the Swiss Open as she continues to recover from the stressful experience she faced in Dubai recently. The Indian badminton star decided to skip the tournament after being stranded in the city for three days due to airspace restrictions amid the ongoing Iran-Israel war.

Sindhu had earlier pulled out of the All England Open Badminton Championships after she was unable to travel to Birmingham. She was scheduled to fly from India to Birmingham via Dubai, but her travel plans were disrupted following airspace restrictions in the region due to the conflict.

Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra has now confirmed that Sindhu will not take part in the Swiss Open as she needs some time to recover from the experience. “She is not playing at Swiss Open. We all know what she went through in Dubai. She could not travel to Birmingham. So she has sought some time to recover from it,” Mishra told PTI.

Sindhu was constantly sharing updates from Dubai while she was stranded there with her team amid the war. In one of her posts, the badminton star revealed that her coach had survived an explosion that occurred just 100 metres away from where he was.

Indians at Swiss Open

In men’s singles, Srikanth, who reached two finals last year at the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International, will open against Jason Gunawan, who had dashed his hopes of ending a title drought in Lucknow.

Prannoy, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist and Asian Games bronze winner, will take on Japan’s Koki Watanabe.

His academy teammate Tharun Mannepalli will face another Japanese player Kenta Nishimoto, while Ayush Shetty will take on Canada’s Brian Yang. Kiran George will meet Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in another opening round clash.

In men’s doubles, world No. 4 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will face Singapore’s Eng Keat Wesley Koh and Junsuke Kubo. The Indian pair had exited in the opening round of the All England Championships last week.

The men’s doubles pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun will take on Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Ray and Lin Yu Chieh.

In the absence of Sindhu, Unnati Hooda will face Chinese Taipei’s Chiu Pin-Chian, while Malvika Bansod will take on Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in women’s singles.

In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand Pullela will face Hu Ling Fang and Zheng Yu Chieh of Chinese Taipei. The Indian pair had won the Syed Modi International Super 300 title for the second successive time last year but exited in the opening round of the All England Championships.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto will take on Denmark’s Jesper Toft and Amalie Magelund, while Rohan Kapoor and Gadde Ruthvika will face Thailand’s Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat.

(With agency inputs)

Lionel Messi has come under heavy criticism on social media after attending a White House event with Inter Miami CF and applauding a speech by Donald Trump that included remarks about the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

Messi and the Inter Miami squad were invited to the White House to be honoured for winning the Major League Soccer (MLS) title in December. The Argentine star also won the league’s MVP award for the second consecutive season.

During the ceremony in Washington, DC,
Trump welcomed Messi and praised his achievements in football. The US president then spoke about the ongoing Iran-Israel war, in which the United States is also involved.

Trump claimed that the United States and its allies were successfully carrying out military operations in the region, destroying Iran’s capabilities to fight back. He even said that the United States wants to fight now more than Iran does.

“The United States military, together with our wonderful Israeli partners, continues to totally demolish the enemy – far ahead of schedule and at levels that people have never seen before. We are destroying more of Iran’s missiles and drone capability every single hour, knocking them out like nobody thought was possible. As soon as they set off a missile, within four minutes the launcher gets hit. They don’t know what’s happening, but we have the greatest military anywhere in the world,” Trump said.

Their navy is gone – 24 ships in three days. That’s a lot of ships. Their anti-aircraft weapons are gone, so they have no air force and no air defense. All of their airplanes are gone. Their communications are gone. Missiles are gone, launchers are gone – about 60% and 64% respectively. Other than that, they’re doing quite well. I said, ‘What’s left?’ But they’re tough and they want to fight. They’re calling and saying, ‘How do we make a deal?’ I said, ‘You’re being a little bit late.’ And we want to fight now more than they do,” Trump added.

“For 47 years we have lived through horror with this group. When you see somebody walking down the street without their legs or without their arms, whose face is so badly affected and hurt, a lot of it came from Soleimani and Iran. Other presidents lived with it, but I didn’t live with it. Our people are doing a great job. Once again, we have the greatest military anyone has seen. Thank you,” Trump concluded.

Messi faces backlash

As he concluded his remarks saying that the United States military is the greatest ever the world has seen, applause broke out in the room, with Messi and several Inter Miami players also clapping. The moment quickly went viral online and triggered strong reactions from many users.

Several critics accused Messi of normalising atrocity and supporting the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. A number of football fans also reacted strongly to the viral videos, with many expressing disappointment in Messi.

Donald Trump casually announces more illegal bombing of Iran in front of the entire Inter Miami squad.

Hundreds of children have been killed in Iran in the last few days.

Lionel Messi and his teammates respond with applause. Bizarre. pic.twitter.com/rT0E2tlm9L

— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) March 5, 2026

Trump just announced more bombing of Iran in front of the entire Inter Miami squad.

Lionel Messi and his teammates responded with applause.

US investigators believe American forces likely killed scores of children at a girls’ school on February 28.
Cluster munitions rained over… pic.twitter.com/L8eAbVamGT

— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) March 6, 2026

Let me describe the atmosphere in the White House…

Trump is explaining how he attacked Iran.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are applauding. pic.twitter.com/VG9C4YYdSX

— Losrafascartel (@Losrafascartel1) March 5, 2026

🚨 MESSI APLAUDE A TRUMP LUEGO DE QUE EL PRESIDENTE ANUNCIE LOS ATAQUES A IRÁN. pic.twitter.com/VtOBxw8v2W

— El Trumpista (@ElTrumpista) March 5, 2026

However, it is important to note that Messi is not well-versed in English. He has himself said that one of the biggest regrets of his life is not learning the language while growing up. So, some fans also argued that he didn’t understand what Trump said and just followed the cue of the room.

Messi was at the White House for the Inter Miami event and likely did not know that Trump would also brief the media about the war during the ceremony.

General view as players from the Indian cricket team and the West Indies cricket team shake hands after the match. File
| Photo Credit: Reuter

India’s two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu is all but out of the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships 2026 in Birmingham without even playing a single match. She will most likely pull out of the tournament after being stranded in Dubai due to the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.

The tournament is set to begin on Tuesday, but
Sindhu has been stuck in Dubai since Saturday following Iran’s attacks on several countries in the Middle East. The attacks came in response of the US-Israel bombing of Iran. This has resulted in closure of airspace across parts of the Gulf region.

Flights have been suspended in the region, which has led to major travel disruptions for people who use the United Arab Emirates as a transit point. The Dubai International Airport, where Sindhu was initially stuck with her team, was also hit during the attacks.

Sindhu’s Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama even had a narrow escape after an explosion occurred near his area. They were later shifted to a safer location with the help of Dubai authorities and the Indian High Commission. Now, it appears that Sindhu will have to pull out of the tournament as the date of the competition nears.

The Indian star was scheduled to face Thailand’s Supanida Katethong in the opening round. However, the Dubai airport and airspace are still closed and she is expected to withdraw from the All England Open. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is also monitoring the situation.

“The BWF and Badminton England are closely monitoring the travel challenges arising from the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Middle East. We remain in regular contact with teams and players whose journeys to Birmingham for the All England Open 2026 may be affected. The safety and wellbeing of all athletes, officials and support personnel remain our highest priority,” a statement read.

Other participants reach safely

While Sindhu’s participation remains uncertain, some of her fellow shuttlers have managed to reach Birmingham via alternate routes of Singapore and Africa. However, it remains to be seen how the long and taxing travel will impact their preparations.

India’s top men’s singles contender Lakshya Sen and rising youngster Ayush Shetty, have reached without any travel issues. While Lakshya has drawn world No. 1 Shi Yu Qi of China, Ayush is up against Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan in the opening round.

For Lakshya, a former semifinalist and runner-up here, it will be another tough test against Shi, against whom he has lost four of his five previous meetings against the Chinese.

Ayush, the US Open Super 300 champion, will look to turn the tide against Farhan, having lost three of their five encounters, including the most recent one at the Indonesia Masters in January.

In women’s singles, Malvika Bansod faces a stiff opening challenge against Tokyo Olympics champion Chen Yufei of China.

Unnati Hooda, whose flight was cancelled on Sunday forcing her to travel via Africa, will need to overcome jet lag when she takes on Thailand’s eighth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong in her opener.

In men’s doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, a former world No. 1, will spearhead India’s challenge against Malaysia’s Kang Khai Xing and Aaron Tai in the first round.

The women’s doubles pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who registered back-to-back semifinal finishes at the event in 2022 and 2023, will face Japan’s Sayaka Hirota and Ayako Sakuramoto.

In mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto are up against Malaysia’s Hoo Pang Ron and Cheng Su Yin, while Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will meet fifth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France.

Prakash Padukone (1980) and Pullela Gopichand (2001) remain the only Indians to have won the All England title. Besides them, only Saina Nehwal (2015 runner-up) and Lakshya (2022 runner-up) have come close in recent years.

(With agency inputs)

Several international sports personalities have been left stranded in the Middle East after Iran launched missile strikes across the region on Saturday. The attacks came in response to what the United States and Israel described as a “pre-emptive” strike that reportedly killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Follow LIVE | Iran Israel War

Following the assassination, Iran fired missiles targeting Israel and multiple countries in the Middle East, where American bases are located. Explosions were reported in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait. In Dubai, major landmarks like the Fairmont The Palm and the Burj Al Arab were hit.

Dubai International Airport, known as the world’s busiest airport by passenger traffic, was also struck during the attacks, which eventually resulted in the closure of airspace across the region. This led to several big names from across the sporting world getting stuck and not being able to leave.

Sports stars stranded in Middle East amid war

Among those affected is former world No.1 tennis player Daniil Medvedev. Medvedev had just won the ATP’s Dubai Championships and was preparing to travel to the United States for the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. However, he got stuck in his hotel room after flights were grounded.

“The situation is unusual, but basically, the only thing is that the airspace is closed, naturally. So, no one knows when we’ll be able to fly out. It’s not clear whether this will last long or not. We’re just waiting to see what happens in the coming hours or days. They keep gradually pushing back the airport reopening time,” he told Bolshe Tennis.

England cricketer Jonny Bairstow is also trapped in Dubai. Bairstow, who is on holiday with his family, took to social media to ask UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer if he could help them return home. He later appealed for any information from people in Dubai and urged everyone to stay safe.

Can you get us home???

— Jonny Bairstow (@jbairstow21) February 28, 2026

England Test captain Ben Stokes and former all-rounder Andrew Flintoff are currently in Abu Dhabi with the England Lions squad. Their scheduled match against Pakistan Shaheens was cancelled due to the security situation in the region. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is trying to get the players out with the help of the government.

Former Liverpool legend Graeme Souness also shared updates from Abu Dhabi Airport. In a video posted on Instagram, he described hearing loud explosions while waiting to board his flight back to the UK. He said anti-missile systems were intercepting missiles in the area.

Meanwhile, former Olympic medalist
PV Sindhu is the biggest Indian name stranded in Dubai at the moment. She described her ordeal as a frightening experience after her coach nearly survived a bomb scare while travelling to the All England Open via the UAE.

The ordeal continues to unfold, and the situation is becoming more frightening by the hour.

A few hours ago, there was an explosion close to where we were holed up at the airport. My coach had to quickly run out of the area as he was closest to the smoke and debris. It was an… https://t.co/ZdNtuALk0P

— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) March 1, 2026

Former Bangladesh cricket captain Mushfiqur Rahim is also stuck in the region. He had travelled to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for a pilgrimage, but got stuck after flights were grounded as a precautionary measure.

“Unfortunately due to the war between USA, ISRAEL AND IRAN all the flight has return to Jeddah and now i am in jeddah airpot including thoushand of passengers…when and how we will able to go to Dhaka along with other Bangladeshi people,” Rahim wrote on his Facebook page.

India’s double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu went through a scary experience after she was left stranded at Dubai airport while travelling to the All England Open Badminton Championships on Saturday, February 28. Her journey was disrupted after flight operations were suspended due to the ongoing Iran-Israel war and the subsequent tensions in the Middle East.

Follow LIVE | Iran Israel War

Sindhu was on her way from Bengaluru to Birmingham to compete in the prestigious tournament, which is scheduled to take place from March 3 to March 8. However, things took an unexpected turn when her flight landed in Dubai and the
airspace was shut down due to missiles and drones reportedly fired by the Iranian authorities in response to attacks from Israel and the United States.

Sindu was left stranded at the airport as flight services were temporarily stopped. Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, Sindhu explained what happened. “Firstly, thank you all who have been reaching out and checking on us,” she was quoted as saying to the media outlet.

“Well, I was transiting from Bangalore, where I train and live full-time now, to Birmingham in the UK to compete in the All England championships. And you know, once our flight landed in Dubai, events beyond our control began to unfold, and shortly after, you know, the airspace also was shut down. And the last few hours have been extremely tense. We could hear the sounds of interceptions overhead, and a few hours later, there was an explosion very close to where we were holed up at Dubai Airport,” she said.

Sindhu said her coach was just about 100 metres away from where the explosion happened. He had to quickly move away from the area to stay safe. “My coach was barely about 100 meters away there. You know, it happened, and had to quickly move out of the area. You know, experiencing something like this in such close quarters is truly, you know, it truly shakes the very foundation you’re built on and you never expect these things to happen to you or anyone close to you,” Sindhu revealed.

The ordeal continues to unfold, and the situation is becoming more frightening by the hour.

A few hours ago, there was an explosion close to where we were holed up at the airport. My coach had to quickly run out of the area as he was closest to the smoke and debris. It was an… https://t.co/ZdNtuALk0P

— Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) March 1, 2026

“But sometimes situations are beyond your control. They do so, you know, I feel incredibly blessed to have such a strong and united team around me, and everyone has stayed calm, supported one another and shown real strength during a very frightening situation. And currently, we are safe now and have been moved to a more secure place,” she added.

Sindhu thanked the Dubai airport authorities and airline staff for their support. She also expressed gratitude towards the Indian High Commission in Dubai for their quick response. Sindhu said that when she reached out for help, the High Commission immediately deployed a high-priority team to assist them.

“I’m deeply, you know, grateful to the Dubai authorities and the staff and Dubai Airport. Also, we’ve been, you know, incredibly tireless in ensuring everyone’s safety. We’re also truly grateful to Emirates and the airport staff for being incredibly kind and supportive. You know, with so many passengers stranded, their hands were understandably tied, but they showed genuine empathy and care towards everyone going through this difficult experience,” Sindhu said.

“I would also like to sincerely thank the Indian High Commission in Dubai for their extraordinary support. And when I reached out requesting assistance, the high commission immediately responded, and on high super priority notice, deployed his team to help us. They have been incredibly supportive of, not just to me, but to everyone stranded here, ensuring safety coordination and constant communication during a very difficult time, and anyone currently stuck or needing assistance is encouraged to reach out using the official Helpline Numbers shared by the high commission. And of course, we are truly blessed to have such a sensitised and credibile in looking out for Indian citizens here for now, we’re trying to get some rest and remain hopeful as the situation continues to unfold. So thank you for your prayers, messages and concern. It truly means a lot to all of us,” she concluded.

“Moments like these remind you how fragile normal life really is. Praying for safety and peace for everyone affected,” said PV Sindhu. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu