Iran expected to withdraw from World Cup in US

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Iran looks increasingly unlikely to compete in the World Cup in the US this summer. Its men’s football team is scheduled to play three matches in California and Seattle. If they finish second in their group, they could play the US on 3 July. But the country’s sports minister said the “conditions for participation do not exist” during the ongoing war. His comments came after Fifa president Gianni Infantino said that Donald Trump had told him Iran was “welcome” to compete. The country’s plans to withdraw may have been influenced by the fact that female players sought asylum in Australia this week. A repeat in the US would be embarrassing for Tehran. No country has pulled out of the World Cup after the draw has been made since 1950, when France and India did not take part. The frontrunner to replace Iran would be Iraq.