Replace Iran with Italy at the 2026 World Cup: the wacky proposal of a close to Donald Trump

As the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America approaches, it continues to attract political maneuvering from the Trump administration. Paolo Zampolli, a close associate of the American president, suggests replacing Iran with Italy for the global football event set to take place in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

“I confirm I have suggested to [Donald] Trump and [Gianni] Infantino that Italy replace Iran in the World Cup,” he declared, as reported by the British newspaper Financial Times and cited by our French colleagues at Eurosport.

However, the matter appeared settled after Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president (who regularly displays a close relationship with Donald Trump), stated a week ago, “Iran will come, that’s for sure,” during a conference held by the television channel CNBC in Washington. He also visited the Iranian team during a training camp in Antalya, Turkey, at the end of March and attended a friendly match.

“We hope that at this moment [the start of the competition on June 11, editor’s note], the situation will be peaceful, which would really help. […] But Iran must come, they represent their people, they have qualified, the players want to play.”

But the American special envoy sees it differently. “I am Italian by birth, and it would be a dream to see the Nazionale in a tournament organized in the United States. With four titles, it has the credentials to justify its presence,” said Paolo Zampolli, without any sporting consideration.

The Azzurri absent from the World Cup for over ten years

Because here, merit has nothing to do with it. Remember, the Squadra Azzurra has not participated in a World Cup since 2014. It has missed two editions (soon to be three). Simply because each time, it has failed to qualify for the premier competition. Despite winning the UEFA European Championship in between (Italy clinched the title in 2021, which it did not retain in 2024, won by Spain).

Several underwhelming performances in the qualifying group stage or playoff matches, each of which disappointed the country, led the Italian team to skip the last World Cups. In the qualifiers for 2022, they were stunned in the semifinals by the modest North Macedonia. In 2026, they were knocked out in the playoff final on penalties by Bosnia and Herzegovina.

According to the schedule, Iran is set to play its three group-stage matches in the United States (in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, then in Seattle against Egypt). The team’s base during the tournament is expected to be in Tucson, Arizona.

As early as the end of February, Iran had mentioned a “boycott” of the competition, before asking FIFA to move its matches to Mexico, which the global body rejected. “Since this corrupt government assassinated our leader, we have no intention of participating in the World Cup,” the Sports Minister stated.

A political subtext

The idea proposed by Paolo Zampolli is clearly motivated by the international context of the war in the Middle East, a conflict triggered by the United States and Israel. This suggestion, seemingly out of nowhere, would supposedly aim to ease tensions between the United States and Italy, as reported by the Financial Times.

Recently, disagreements have arisen between the leaders of the two countries, Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni. The cause was criticisms, if not attacks, by the American president against Pope Leo XIV. These recent events did not sit well with the Italian Prime Minister, who made her displeasure known.

However, this did not discourage the American head of state, who preferred to stir the pot by directly targeting the Italian leader. “I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” Donald Trump said on April 14 in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

His problem? He was “shocked” by the lack of Italian involvement (and more broadly, European involvement) in the war in Iran. This complaint was also directed at France, deemed “very uncooperative,” and similarly to the Iraq war at the turn of the century, France refused to follow the United States, while Spain outright opposed it.

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