Mexico Steps In After Trump Bars Iran’s World Cup Team 

U.S. President Donald Trump has greenlit Iran to play its 2026 FIFA World Cup matches on American soil but barred the team from spending a single night in the country.

FIFA approached Mexico after Washington declined to accommodate the Iranian team overnight, despite Iran being scheduled to play all three of its Group G matches in American cities during the June 11 to July 19 competition.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the arrangement on Monday. She said during her daily press conference, “The United States doesn’t want the Iranian team to spend the night…So they asked us, ‘Can we stay the night in Mexico?’ We said sure, no problem.'”

“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum added.

Iran will base itself at the Xoloitzcuintle Centre in Tijuana, just south of San Diego. The team will be travelling across the border on match days to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles and Egypt in Seattle.

Trump’s decision to bar the team sits against the backdrop of the US-Israeli war on Iran, now in its third month since it started on February 28, with roughly 3,468 dead and more than 26,500 injured, according to Al Jazeera.

Trump said in March that Iran was welcome to participate but that it was not “appropriate” for the team to be in the United States “for their own life and safety.”

Visas have still not been issued.