US says Iran’s players are welcome at 2026 World Cup after Italy mooted as replacement

SportFootballUS says Iran’s players are welcome at 2026 World Cup after Italy mooted as replacementDonald Trump’s envoy had floated the idea of Italy replacing Iran at this summer’s tournamentWill Castle Friday 24 April 2026 09:14 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2964147","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/us-iran-war-italy-world-cup-2026-trump-b2964147.html","title":"US says Iran team welcome at 2026 World Cup after Italy mooted as replacement"}}CloseGianni Infantino, Donald Trump and how Fifa went full Maga at the Club World CupInside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of sportGet our free Inside Sport newsletterGet our free Inside Sport newsletterEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_Inside_Sport_CDP","regTitle":"Inside Sport","subscriptionGroup":"inside_sport","subscriptionGroupId":"9cec95c5-a973-40ac-9b05-03d636c07853","type":"sport","pathPrefix":["/sport","/f1"],"associatedAuthors":["Lawrence Ostlere","Kieran Jackson"],"title":"Inside Sport newsletter: Get an expert guide to the biggest moments shaping the world of sport","mobileTitle":"Get our free Inside Sport newsletter","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/InsideSport1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveInsideSportNews","regSourceSection":"Football","regSourceMethod":"NSCs"},"isClimate":false}Iran’s footballers and staff will be welcome on American soil for the 2026 World Cup, secretary of state Marco Rubio has insisted, after it was revealed the idea of replacing the country with Italy was floated to D...