Iran’s embassy in Mexico on Tuesday said the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico after President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns.
It was already unclear whether such talks were even happening before FIFA said such unprecedented changes in World Cup history were not planned to a match schedule agreed three months ago.
Iranian officials have previously said it is up to FIFA and the U.S. to keep the team safe during the World Cup.
The embassy posted a statement attributed to Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group stage matches to Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials.
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“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
In a statement, FIFA said it is “in regular contact with all participating member associations, including [the Islamic Republic of] Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on Dec. 6, 2025.”
The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play against New Zealand on June 16 and Belgium on June 21 in Inglewood, California, before finishing group play in Seattle against Egypt on June 26.
Moving the games would be unprecedented less than three months before the start of the World Cup.
Trump said last week that the Iran team was welcome at the World Cup despite the ongoing war in the Middle East but added, “I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
Asked on Tuesday if Mexico was open to hosting the matches, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum told a news conference: “Yes. Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides.”
Iran has sent mixed signals about its participation in the tournament after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks that killed the Islamic republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of other senior figures.
Sports minister Ahmad Donyamali told state TV last week that it was not possible to play “due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran.”
But after Trump’s post, the national team said on Instagram that “no one can exclude” it from the tournament and a government spokesman in Tehran stressed it was the responsibility of FIFA and the U.S. as a co-host nation to keep players safe and secure.
“FIFA is the organizer of the World Cup,” Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said. “When warnings are issued at the highest level about the environment being unsafe for Iranian football players, this indicates that the host country apparently lacks the capacity and ability to provide security for such an important sporting event.”
Soccer is followed passionately in Iran, a nation of more than 90 million people that has qualified for seven men’s World Cups and each of the past four editions. The team is ranked No. 20 in the world by FIFA and behind only Japan from Asia.
FIFA had previously commented via an Instagram post from president Gianni Infantino last week that he’d received assurances from Trump that Iran was welcome at the tournament.
Information from PA and The Associated Press was used in this report.
