U.S-Iran FIFA World Cup 2026 football match is possible? Here's how two countries at war with each other may face off in soccer game

USA will begin their FIFA World Cup 2026 journey by taking on Paraguay in group D match on June 12, then face off Australia on June 19, and Türkiye on June 25. Iran are scheduled to play their first two group G games near Los Angeles, against New Zealand ⁠on June ‌15 and Belgium on June 21, and then face Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

This is the first World Cup since its inception in ⁠1930 in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war ​with.

USA vs Iran in FIFA World Cup 2026

Iran and the U.S. could meet ​in the round of ​32 if both teams come second in their groups. In the match 88 of the quadrennial tournament this year, Group D runners-up will play Group G runners-up at Dallas Stadium on July 3. USA and Iran have been positioned in the group D and group G respectively.

Iran’s national soccer team arrived in Tijuana early on Sunday ahead of three World Cup matches in the United States, amid tensions ​that have turned the world’s biggest sporting event into a ​soft-power contest between the warring countries.

The squad touched down shortly after five a.m. (1200 GMT) in the Mexican city, across ​the border from San Diego, after an overnight flight from Turkey where they have been training for the past three weeks.

As the team’s bus pulled away from Tijuana airport, it paused briefly so members of the federation could wave to about 20 fans holding Iranian flags. A cordon of military and police escorted the team from the airport to the Marriott hotel, ‌which will serve as ⁠their base.

Soccer is ⁠virtually a religion in Iran, a national pastime beloved by people across the political spectrum. But for Iran’s team, the tournament has been marred by fraught politics at home, the war with the ​U.S., and tensions over whether they would actually be able to set foot on U.S. soil to play their games.

Even their presence in Tijuana is politically tinged. The ​Iranian federation negotiated at the last minute to move the team’s base camp from Arizona to Mexico, due to uncertainty over whether they would be granted visas and a growing feeling in Iran that the squad’s presence in the U.S. should be kept to a minimum, Iran’s ambassador in Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, told ​Reuters.