But even if it’s not a big team, there’s still a chance that one of these teams could be in the lineup in North America for this summer’s tournament. This is because Iran’s participation in the World Cup remains under intense scrutiny as the conflict with the United States continues in the Middle East.
It is worth stressing that the chances of this happening remain slim, but if Iran were to withdraw, FIFA would have the power to replace them with whomever they see fit. This is due to Rule 6.7, which states: “If a participating Member Association withdraws or is excluded from the 26th FIFA World Cup, FIFA shall decide the matter in its sole discretion and take any measures it deems necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the participating Member Association in question with another association.”
There are few restrictions on who FIFA can invite to replace Iran, and the most likely option would be to offer space to the Asian confederation’s best unqualified team, in this case the United Arab Emirates. They lost to Iraq in the final Asian qualifying round, but the situation in the Middle East could complicate things further.
FIFA may choose to proceed in groups of three teams, but this also poses logistical issues that could negatively impact the tournament. For example, the third-place team will qualify for the final tournament. So when you have a group of three teams, things get complicated in that regard.
So, with less than three months until the tournament, the door remains slightly open for Italy and their national teams. Italy, who lost on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final, are probably in the best position to parachute in, given that the Azzurri are top of the non-participating nations in the FIFA world rankings.
Of course, this would require an Iranian withdrawal, which has yet to be confirmed, despite threats from Iranian bigwigs in the wake of the US and Israeli-led air campaign. Iran was placed in Group G along with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt.
