President Donald Trump said he has no interest in the uncertainty surrounding Iran's national soccer team participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which has been thrown into doubt by military conflict between the U.S., Israel, and Iran just three months before the tournament.
"I really couldn't care less," Trump said in an interview with Politico on Saturday. "I think Iran is a very badly defeated nation and they're depleted."
Iran, a powerhouse in Asian soccer, was scheduled to compete in the North and Central American World Cup. The team was set to face Belgium and New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, respectively, before traveling to Seattle to play Egypt.
If both Iran and the U.S. finished second in their groups, the two nations could have met in Dallas on July 3.
However, U.S. airstrikes on Iran have cast doubt on whether the Iranian team will participate. Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, suggested the team may withdraw. "What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot look forward to the World Cup with hope," he said.
FIFA has long sought to prevent geopolitical issues from overshadowing the World Cup and awarded Trump a peace prize last December for promoting global peace and unity.
However, Politico noted that Iranian players and officials traveling to the United States has become a highly sensitive matter when one of the host nations is at war with a participating country. FIFA declined to comment on the issue.