Iran Boycott 2026 World Cup Draw Over US Visas

NEWSWEEK-Nov28th2025

By Daniel Orton and Jordan King

Iran will boycott the World Cup finals draw in Washington, D.C., next week after the U.S. denied visas to several members of its delegation, the country’s soccer federation said Friday, according to AFP.

“We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken have nothing to do with sports and the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw,” a spokesperson told state television.

The U.S. refused to issue visas to several members of the delegation, including federation president Mehdi Taj, according to a report earlier this week from Iranian sports outlet Varzesh 3.

Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei was one of four members of the delegation granted visas for the draw on December 5.

Newsweek has contacted Iran’s Football Federation and the White House via email, as well as the State Department via an online contact form outside normal working hours, for comment.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds the World Cup trophy in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on August 22, 2025 (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)Read Less

When Is The World Cup Draw?

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw is scheduled for Friday, December 5, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., starting at 12:00 p.m. ET. During the event, the 48 qualified teams will be placed into 12 groups of four, with hosts USA, Canada, and Mexico pre-assigned to Groups A, B, and D. Teams will be sorted into four pots based on FIFA’s November 2025 rankings, and the draw will determine all group-stage matchups. The complete match schedule, including venues and kickoff times, will be confirmed the following day. Fans can watch the draw live on FIFA.com and major sports networks.

Who Has Qualified For The 2026 World Cup?

The tournament will feature 48 teams for the first time and will be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. (all automatically qualified).

Host Nations (3)

• Canada
• Mexico
• USA

Asia (AFC) – 8 teams

• Australia
• Iran
• Japan
• Jordan (first-ever World Cup)
• Qatar
• Saudi Arabia
• South Korea
• Uzbekistan (first-ever World Cup)

Africa (CAF) – 9 teams

• Algeria
• Cape Verde (first-ever World Cup)
• Egypt
• Ghana
• Ivory Coast
• Morocco
• Senegal
• South Africa
• Tunisia

Europe (UEFA) – 12 teams so far

• Austria
• Belgium
• Croatia
• England
• France
• Germany
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Portugal
• Scotland
• Spain
• Switzerland

Four European spots will be decided in UEFA playoffs in March next year.

South America (CONMEBOL) – 6 teams

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Ecuador
• Paraguay
• Uruguay

Oceania (OFC) – 1 team

• New Zealand

North & Central America / Caribbean (CONCACAF) – 3 teams

• Panama
• Haiti (first time since 1974)
• Curaçao (first-ever World Cup)

Two spots will come from the Intercontinental Playoff featuring:

• Bolivia (South America)
• DR Congo (Africa)
• Iraq (Asia)
• Jamaica & Suriname (CONCACAF)
• New Caledonia (Oceania)

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