Topics: FIFA World Cup, Donald Trump, Football
Donald Trump has been slammed for his tone-deaf comments about the US-Israel war with Iran.
The 2026 World Cup is just a few months away as the United States will host this summer's tournament alongside North American neighbours Canada and Mexico.
US president Trump has been a huge figure for the World Cup, having been at the forefront of their campaign.
At the official World Cup draw ceremony, he was presented with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize award, which was met with widespread condemnation.
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The award has aged badly given Trump sanctioned USA's joint military venture with Israel to strike Iran.
The escalating conflict in the Middle East has seen the British air base in Cyprus struck by a drone.
Ahead of a roundtable event with technology companies at the White House, Trump began by inexplicably rating the US-Israel war with Iran.
"These are exciting time," he said. "We’re doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly I would say. Somebody said on a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said, about a 15."
The ongoing tension in the Middle East is an unsettling backdrop for the upcoming World Cup, which Iran have qualified for.
Iran, who have qualified for their fourth successive World Cup, are grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G.
But their participation has been thrown into doubt after Iran's top football official Mehdi Taj gave a worrying update following the US and Israeli strikes on the country.
He told Varzesh3: "What is certain is that after these attacks, it's hard to look at the World Cup with hope."
Trump, however, insists he 'does not care' whether Iran compete at the World Cup.
Asked for his thoughts on the prospect of Iran boycotting the World Cup, he replied: "I really don't care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They're running on fumes."
If Iran were unable or unwilling to participate at the World Cup, then FIFA could either call in a last-minute replacement team or adjust the tournament accordingly.
Iraq and UAE would be the teams in the picture to be called up to the World Cup.
Iraq will book their spot at the World Cup if they win an intercontinental play-off against either Bolivia or Suriname, so if they qualify that would mean the UAE would take Iran's spot as the highest-ranked Asian side.
However, if Iraq lose the play-off, then they could be given a second chance should Iran withdraw.
According to The Athletic, FIFA could also cancel Iran's games and tweak the rules to treat Group G as a three-team group.
