Iran are set to miss the FIFA World Cup 2026 after Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali confirmed their withdrawal following the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Let’s take a look at which team could replace Iran for their World Cup games in the United States.
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.
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“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UAE’s chances are entirely dependent on Iran’s withdrawal, Iraq could still play in the tournament even if Iran had not withdrawn.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.
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Who could replace Iran in FIFA World Cup 2026 after it withdraws amid war against US, Israel
The sinking underscored the scope of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and its spread in the Middle East and beyond. It also ignited a debate in India about maritime security in the Indian Ocean — a region where New Delhi maintains a significant naval presence.
On Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s navy recovered 87 bodies and rescued 32 Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena, which sank in international waters off the coast of the island nation — a rare instance of a submarine torpedoing a ship since World War II.
Sri Lanka’s navy said it had responded to a distress signal from the IRIS Dena, but by the time it reached the location, there was no sign of the ship, just patches of oil and sailors floating in the water. The rescued mariners were taken to a hospital in the town of Galle, on Sri Lanka’s southern coast.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the sinking illustrates the U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran is stretching beyond its borders and described the IRIS Dena as a “prize ship.” President Donald Trump has said one of the key objectives of the war is to wipe out Iran’s navy.
A video released by the U.S. Department of Defense on X showed the moment of the torpedo attack. The Iranian ship appears to be hit by an underwater explosion that causes it to break apart, as a large plume of water rises up in the air.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. Navy of committing an “an atrocity at sea” in sinking the frigate and said on social media on Thursday that the United States “will come to bitterly regret” the attack.
Araghchi said the IRIS Dena had been carrying “almost 130” crew.
India’s navy and defense ministry said the Iranian warship had participated in the International Fleet Review and the multilateral naval exercise MILAN 2026, organized by the Indian navy in the port of Visakhapatnam from Feb. 15 to Feb. 25. The ministry said 74 countries had joined the events.
The Iranian warship was seen sailing at sea during the exercises in a Feb. 17 post on X by the Indian navy. Another image showed several of its crew members posing on deck with the Iranian flag in the background.
Araghchi stressed that the frigate had been “a guest” of India’s navy. The Indian government has not yet publicly commented on the incident.
Another Iranian ship enters Sri Lanka’s territorial waters
Sri Lanka’s media minister and government spokesperson, Nalinda Jayatissa, told parliament on Thursday that another Iranian ship has entered Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, an area beyond its immediate territorial waters where it has rights over natural resources.
Jayatissa did not provide further details about the ship or the number of people on board. He said the government was trying to “minimize the loss of lives and safeguard regional peace” but did not elaborate.
Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)
Motorcycle mounted policemen patrol at the National Hospital where rescued Iranian sailors from the IRIS Dena warship by the Sri Lankan Navy are receiving treatment, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Nurses exit the National Hospital, where the sailors rescued from IRIS Dena warship by Sri Lanka’s navy are treated in Galle, Sri Lanka, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Health care workers unload from a vehicle the bodies of Iranian sailors who died when their IRIS Dena warship sank outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters, in Galle, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
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Iranian warship IRIS Dena is seen in the Bay of Bengal during International Fleet Review held at Visakhapatnam, India, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)
India has long viewed the Indian Ocean as central to its security, with its navy regularly conducting patrols and multinational exercises to safeguard key sea lanes used for global trade and energy shipments. It has also traditionally sought to maintain a careful diplomatic balance in tensions between the U.S. and Iran while emphasizing on diplomacy and talks.
Indian opposition leaders, however, on Thursday questioned the government’s lack of response to the incident, saying the sinking of the warship so close to India’s maritime neighborhood warranted an official statement.
The opposition Indian National Congress party slammed what it called “silence” from Prime Minister Narendra Modi ‘s government.
“The conflict has reached our backyard, with an Iranian warship sunk in the Indian Ocean. Yet the Prime Minister has said nothing,” opposition leader Rahul Gandhi wrote in a post on X.
Kanwal Sibal, a former diplomat who served as India’s foreign secretary from 2002 to 2003, wrote on X that India was “far from politically or militarily responsible for the U.S. attack,” but its “responsibility is at a moral and human plane.”
“The U.S. has ignored India’s sensitivities,” Sibal said. “The ship was in these waters because of India’s invitation.”
Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalist Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that the Sri Lankan spokesperson said the second Iranian vessel was in the maritime area of Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, not in its territorial waters.
The Asian Football Confederation has rescheduled or postponed multiple matches scheduled to take place in the Middle East following US and Israel’s join strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliatory response, including Al-Nassr’s AFC Cup quarter-final tie against Emirati club Al-Wasl in Dubai.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East between US and Israel one one side and Iran on the other has affected the world of sport, including football, leaving several athletes stranded in the war zone and resulting in the cancellation or postponement of multiple events, including a match involving the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo.
Iran, after all,
is targeting Israel as well as multiple US assets across the Gulf including in nations such as United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in retaliation against Washington and Israel’s joint strikes targeting Tehran, which has led to the
death of their Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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The conflict has forced the Asian Football Confederation to postpone the continental club championship playoffs taking place in the Middle East. In a statement posted on Sunday, the governing body for Asian football confirmed that the AFC Champions League Elite Round of 16 games scheduled to take place on Monday and Tuesday will be rescheduled.
Al Nassr’s Champions League Two match against Al-Wasl postponed
Additionally, the AFC Champions League 2 and AFC Challenge League quarter-finals scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in the West Zone will be postponed. No new dates have been announced by the AFC so far.
Al-Nassr, the Saudi Pro League club that Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has been part of since 2023, was scheduled to face Emirati club Al-Wasl in Dubai in the AFC Cup quarter-finals.
“The AFC will continue to closely monitor this rapidly evolving situation and remains resolute in ensuring the safety and security of all players, teams, officials, and fans,” the AFC said in a statement.
The AFC, however, added that matches in the eastern part of the continent across all of AFC’s continental championships will continue as scheduled.
This includes the Women’s Asian Cup in Australia that gets underway next Sunday and features India – who had made history by securing qualification on merit for the tournament last year and are set to make their first appearance in over two decades.
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr among teams affected as AFC postpones multiple games due to tensions in Middle East
US and Israel combined to strike Iran on Saturday with the Islamic Republic striking back at nearby US bases in the Gulf countries which has led to chaos in the Middle East.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is the most high profile Indian name to be stranded in the Middle East as conflict rages in the region in the wake of United States and Israel’s combined strikes on Iran that started Saturday.
Iran soon retaliated with strikes across multiple nations in the Middle East triggering a wider conflict. Several airports across the Gulf region have suspended operations due to the conflict leading to travellers getting stranded in these countries as they wait for situation to improve.
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Here we take a look at some of the key stars from the sports world who are currently stranded in the Gulf due to this unfolding war.
PV Sindhu stranded in Dubai
Star Indian shuttler was on her way to the United Kingdom for the All England Championships but now she is stuck at the Dubai Airport. In a post on X, Sindhu described her ordeal saying that there was an explosion close to where she was stranded. If the situation does not improve quickly, it could also endanger Sindhu’s participation as the prestigious All England.
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
Former Bangladesh cricket captain Mushfiqur Rahim has been stranded in Jeddah while returning from his Umrah pilgrimage.
“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.
Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune among stranded tennis stars
Daniil Medvedev won the men’s singles event at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Him and all his competitors who had not left Dubai are now stranded. Reports suggest that Holger Rune is also stuck in Doha in Qatar where he was staying as part of his structured rehabilitation programme.
Graeme Souness stuck in Abu Dhabi
Liverpool legend and football expert also remains stranded in Abu Dhabi. He was supposed to catch a plane to the United Kingdom but the conflict has left him stuck at the airport in the UAE.
“Well right now, I’m at this airport, I’m hearing some pretty loud bangs going off, and that is anti-missiles taking out missiles being fired at some American base,” the Liverpool legend posted on his Instagram stories.
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