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The Football Reporters: Will Iran play at the U.S. World Cup?

ESPN FC

ESPN

Sports, Soccer

4.32.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

With just 100 days to go until the 2026 World Cup kicks off, Mark, James and Rob explain what we know about Iran’s participation at the tournament amid the country’s ongoing conflict with the United States. Plus, Fernando Vila joins the show to discuss the situation in Mexico and how it will impact their ability to host the tournament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

From 30 for 30 Podcasts.

0:02.5

Brian Padda, Senior Defensive Lyman from Miami.

0:12.9

Gunned down.

0:14.3

The key to this case, it's Brian.

0:17.2

A hour before he died, he was on the phone. This might be a hit.

0:22.6

You want the truth.

0:23.6

The biggest one of conviction being placed him to arrest.

0:25.6

We had a killer amongst us.

0:27.6

Murder at the U. Listen now.

0:33.6

Hello and welcome to the football reporters.

0:40.3

Tuesday marks 100 days until the start of the 2026 World Cup, but there is more uncertainty

0:47.3

about the tournament than ever before. Conflict in the Middle East involving the US and Iran

0:52.3

and several other countries has placed

0:54.4

Iran's future at the tournament in doubt. There are also concerns in Mexico with recent

1:00.7

off-field issues there as well about the staging and the safety of matches.

1:07.8

Mark, I want to come to you on this to start with. You spent some time in and around FIFA in the last few days.

1:14.1

What's the sort of mood music like at the organisation at the moment in what's obviously

1:19.8

a very challenging time?

1:21.7

Yes, I was in Cardiff for the IFAB meeting, which is about introducing new rules, etc.

1:26.5

for the World Cup, but obviously this was a press conference on Saturday morning, which was about 12 hours after

1:32.2

the hostilities began in Iran.

1:33.8

So we asked Mattias Grafson, who's the Secretary General of FIFA, basically, Jeline

...

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