March 20 (Reuters) - Sardar Azmoun, one of Iran's top soccer players, has been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government, Iranian media has reported, making it unlikely he will play any part in the World Cup. Iran's participation in the World Cup as a whole is under a cloud because of the ongoing conflict with the United States, which is co-hosting the June 11-July 19 tournament with Mexico...

Members of Team mELLI are set to depart for Turkey later this week as part of their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to reports from Tasnim News Agency, the team will play two international friendly matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica on the 27th and 31th of March 2026, respectively. These fixtures will provide a valuable opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate the squad and fine-tune tactics ahead of the global...

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Mexico said on Tuesday that the country stands ready to host some of Iran’s matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed her country’s readiness when responding to a question about whether Mexico would welcome Iran's participation in Mexico’s home ground for the tournament. "Yes," she replied with a clear endorsement, emphasizing that Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with all countries worldwide and is eagerly awaiting FIFA's final decision on...

Donald Trump has said that it would not be “appropriate” for Iran to play in this summer’s World Cup following the US and Israeli strikes on the country. Iran’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali had previously appeared to rule out the possibility of the country playing at the tournament, saying that “the conditions for participation do not exist”, before Trump’s latest intervention struck a similar tone.The US president posted on Truth Social: “The Iran National Soccer Team...

Iran could face disciplinary action from FIFA, including a possible ban from future tournaments, if they unilaterally withdraw from the World Cup. Donald Trump told Politico last week that he “really doesn’t care” if Iran fail to take part in this summer’s tournament, but FIFA remains committed to the World Cup going ahead with all qualified teams participating. The president of the country’s football federation, Mehdi Taj, cast doubt on Iran’s involvement last week by saying “we cannot be expected to look...