The Iranian national soccer team experienced a positive development on its challenging journey toward participating in the World Cup matches scheduled to take place in the United States this June.

A significant breakthrough in soccer diplomacy was achieved following a face-to-face meeting between the Iranian soccer delegation and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. This meeting, held for the first time since hostilities involving the U.S. and Israel against Iran began on February 28, marked the conclusion of a tense month.

The Iranian soccer federation released an optimistic statement regarding the meeting in Turkey, notably omitting any discussion of relocating World Cup matches to Mexico—a topic that Infantino has consistently dismissed over the past fortnight.

This week, the organizers in Arizona, where Iran’s World Cup matches are set to take place, maintained their commitment to enhancing training facilities and developing local and federal security measures. Their approach aligns with FIFA’s steadfast “stick to the schedule” philosophy.

Infantino extended his stay in the Turkish coastal city of Antalya to witness Iran’s impressive 5-0 victory over Costa Rica in a preparatory match.

Iran’s players pose for team photo prior to their friendly soccer match with Costa Rica in Turkey

Donald Trump has previously admitted ‘I really don’t care’ if Iran comes to the World Cup

Despite these developments, the upcoming two months remain uncertain for both the Iranian team and the nation, as mixed signals persist regarding U.S. intentions in the ongoing conflict.

Still, talk of Iran boycotting soccer’s biggest event or seeking to move its games from Los Angeles and Seattle to Mexico has faded.

The Iranian delegation is due at its Tucson training camp no later than June 10 for the June 11 to July 19 tournament.

The war immediately cast doubt on Iran’s ability and willingness to fulfil a World Cup entry secured in March 2025 as one of the best teams in Asia.

In the first half of March, government officials variously suggested the team could not play at the World Cup, could not travel to the U.S., and FIFA should move Iran’s games to co-host Mexico.

Mexico president Claudia Sheinbaum appeared to suggest hosting Iran games was possible, without advocating for an unprecedented late change to a World Cup schedule.

Donald Trump added to the confusion. He said ‘I really don’t care’ if Iran comes to the World Cup, that players were not safe – he seemed to mean they were at risk from regime reprisals at home – and promised they would be treated like stars.

FIFA has been the most consistent commentator, and Infantino the only top soccer official openly talking about the delicate diplomacy: That Iran will come to the U.S., that the schedule will not change, and no formal negotiations about Mexico had or would take place.

Iran, therefore, is on track to come to Arizona and start preparing for a first game on June 15 against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers’ SoFi stadium in Inglewood.

The FIFA-mandated break for clubs to release their players to national teams gave World Cup squads up to nine days together and two warmup games.

Iran destroyed Costa Rica 5-0 in a warmup friendly in the safety of Turkey’s Antalya Tuesday

Iran was scheduled to go to Jordan, another World Cup team, where Nigeria and Costa Rica were invited to be opponents in back-to-back games. When the war spread across the Middle East, those games were switched from Jordanian capital Amman to the safety of Antalya in southern Turkey.

For most Iran players, a 2-1 loss to Nigeria last Friday and the win against Costa Rica on Tuesday was their first competitive action since the Persian Gulf Pro League stopped.

Both Iran games were without fans in the stadium. In a similar warmup before the 2022 World Cup, Iran fans were locked out of a stadium in Austria, avoiding any protest against the government being shown on the broadcast back home.

In Antalya, the Iran team protested the U.S.-backed military strikes by holding up children’s backpacks and photos of victims of the war during the national anthems.

Missing from the squad was star striker Sardar Azmoun. He was not selected reportedly on the order of state authorities because of a social media post by the Dubai-based player of a photograph with him greeting political leaders of the United Arab Emirates.

Ahead of Iran’s trip to Turkey, FIFA declined to confirm details about which officials would go there for the best – and, realistically, first – chance to meet Iranian federation leaders during the war.

Infantino landed on Tuesday morning. He spoke to a room full of players and coach Amir Ghalenoei, and met privately with federation officials Mehdi Mohammed Nabi, and Omid Jamali.

In a later Instagram post, Infantino promised FIFA’s support to give the team ‘the best possible conditions’ to prepare for the World Cup. More detail came in an Iranian federation readout, which FIFA later confirmed was an accurate summary of Infantino’s various meetings.

Infantino, the release said, promised he was ‘at your service, and if you need help, I will provide it,’ including with organizing a training camp ahead of the World Cup. That could be in Turkey in the coming weeks.

The Iranian statement did not refer to moving games to Mexico, which Infantino has repeatedly said cannot happen. He told Mexican broadcaster N+Univision at the weekend there is no backup plan for Iran at the World Cup, only Plan A.

Gianni Infantino held the first face-to-face meeting with Iran’s FA since the conflict broke out

The World Cup draw was made on December 5 in the presence of Trump, minutes after he was awarded the first FIFA Peace Prize by Infantino. The venues for games were confirmed one day later. Several of Iran’s delegation, including federation president Mehdi Taj, were denied visas to enter the U.S. That remains a key problem ahead of the World Cup.

After playing New Zealand in Inglewood, Iran is due to return there six days later to play Belgium, the Group G top seed. Iran completes the group in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.

FIFA had the option to put Egypt vs. Iran in Vancouver but chose to keep Iran inside the U.S.

FIFA had about 200,000 total tickets available for those three Iran games and most are sold. Changing cities to Mexico would expose FIFA to compensating fans, broadcasters and sponsors who have paid for flights and hotels according to the official game schedule.

Iran has chosen Arizona as its training base, at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson. World Cup rules require teams to enter the host nation at least five days before its first game.

At the camp, director Sarah Hanna said in a statement, ‘There has been no official update regarding Iran’s plans to train at Kino Sports Complex, and we are continuing to prepare for Team IR Iran’s arrival.’