Iran extinguishes Italy’s hopes of repechage for the next World Cup? After the defeat in the final of the European play-offs against Bosnia, the national team was ready to play the repechage card, focusing precisely on the withdrawal of the Iranian national team, whose participation was considered increasingly in the balance due to the war with the United States, which will host the world championship together with Canada and Mexico, to take over in the final phase of the tournament. FIFA was considering the idea of a four-team intercontinental super playoff, but the The Iran coach’s words suggest that his national team will eventually be able to participate of the American Worlds.
The words of the Iran coach
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei intervened on the issue, and perhaps put an end to Italy’s hopes: “There are no reasons not to participate in the World Cup. If God wants we will do it“he told the German news agency dpa.
However, it should be remembered that the final decision lies with the Iranian government, which in the past had expressed a clear refusal to play in the United States, while it had said it was willing to participate in the tournament if the matches in its group were moved to Mexico, a condition which so far seems to have met with a resounding no from FIFA. Much, however, will depend on the developments of the conflict in the Middle East.
The scenario that would qualify Italy
What would happen instead if, in an alternative scenario, Iran deserted the World Cup? The final decision could be taken directly by FIFA which, based on article 6.7 of the regulations, can choose the replacement “at its sole discretion”. Italy’s position in the ranking, 12th, could therefore help the Azzurri, but at the moment it seems like a distant possibility.
Any void left by Iran would, in all likelihood, be filled by an Asian selection. Iraq qualified by beating Bolivia in the playoffs and earned their ticket to the World Cup. In this case, the repechage would therefore reward the United Arab Emirates, eliminated by Iraq on the way to the final phase.
Super playoff idea, how it works and who participates
The latest idea under consideration by FIFA was revealed directly by The Athletic. The American media is in fact talking about a possible intercontinental super playoff, to be organized in the event of Iran’s forfeit among some of the national teams left out of the 2026 World Cup close to the world championship, perhaps playing directly in the United States.
A distant hypothesis at the moment, which would certainly put Italy back in the running, which would be included as the national team with the highest ranking among those left out. In particular, the teams participating in this super playoff would be 4: two European, i.e. those with the highest ranking, which could be Italy and Denmark (in 20th place in the general ranking), and two Asian. The four teams would be divided into two semi-finals, with the winners competing in the grand final.
The hypothesis takes on greater substance because it can rely on a recent precedent. In the first edition of the brand new (and very rich) Club World Cup, played last summer in the United States, the exclusion of Mexicans Leon due to timeshare led to a play-off between Club America, the highest-ranking Mexican team, and Los Angeles Fc, beaten by Leon in the final of the Concacaf Champions League. The organization of a similar playoff (in a short time) by FIFA therefore makes the hypothesis of a super playoff possible which would also include Italy.
Repechage Italy, who decides?
As mentioned, Italy’s possible repechage to the 2026 World Cup is at the total discretion of FIFA. In the event of Iran’s forfeit, it would be up to a special commission to evaluate how to fill the void left in group G, with the Azzurri still maintaining several chances of being ‘chosen’. Article 6 of the regulation explains how the FIFA Council or the competent committee must decide on the possible replacement of the resigning national team.
The FIFA Council is a body made up of 37 members: a president, elected by the FIFA Congress, namely Gianni Infantino; eight vice-presidents and 38 other members elected from among the affiliated federations associated with the highest governing body of international football. For UEFA, the man who could ‘push’ Italy’s candidacy is president Aleksander Ceferin.
Italy returned to the World Cup, when does FIFA decide?
At the moment, however, it is difficult to define the time horizon of FIFA’s decision. Much, as already mentioned, will depend on developments in the Middle East, with the continuation of the war between the United States and Iran which, however, does not leave us to imagine, at least at the moment, any glimmer of hope for Iran’s participation in the next world championship. In any case, a decision could not arrive so close to the tournament, whose kick-off is set for June 11th.