Italy can still go to the World Cup, all comes down to Trump
A night that changed everything
According to Rob Swan’s report for GiveMeSport, Italy seemed to be in control early in their playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina when Moise Kean put them ahead. The match swung just before halftime when Alessandro Bastoni was sent off, and from there the tension only grew. Haris Tabakovic brought Bosnia level late in normal time, extra time solved nothing, and Italy then collapsed in the shootout as Bosnia won 4 to 1 on penalties.
Italy have not played at a World Cup since 2014, so another failure hit with real force. It was supposed to be the tournament where one of football’s most decorated nations finally stopped talking about absence and started talking about a return. Instead, the loss reopened the same wound, only this time with the added sting of seeing qualification slip away after they had already taken the lead.
Why Italy are still being discussed
The reason Italy have not vanished entirely from the conversation has little to do with what happened on the field against Bosnia and everything to do with the uncertainty around Iran. According to an earlier GiveMeSport report, Italy had been mentioned as one possible late replacement if FIFA ever needed to remove Iran from the tournament and decided to go outside the usual confederation route. That idea was always speculative, but it was enough to keep Italy attached to the wider story.
According to an Associated Press report, Iranian officials themselves raised doubts about taking part and asked about moving their matches to Mexico as geopolitical tensions deepened. Once that became part of the conversation, every contingency theory around a replacement nation started to feel less far fetched, and Italy, because of status, ranking, and name recognition, quickly became the team many people mentioned first.
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FIFA's public line is much firmer than the speculation
According to FIFA’s official World Cup schedule, Iran remain listed in Group G and are scheduled to face New Zealand on June 15, Belgium on June 21, and Egypt on June 26. On top of that, according to an Associated Press report carried by ESPN, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said there is no backup plan for Iran’s place in the tournament.
Italy are still being mentioned, yes, but not because FIFA has opened the door. They are being mentioned because football has drifted into a larger political argument and because replacement scenarios always attract attention when a major country is involved. As of Friday, April 10, 2026, the official material still points in one direction, Iran are in the tournament, and Italy are out.
Why the Iran question still keeps Italy in view
What keeps the story alive is not a fresh sporting route for Italy, but the simple fact that uncertainty tends to outlive clarity when the World Cup and geopolitics meet. According to AP, concern around Iran’s participation has not disappeared entirely, even while FIFA continues to insist the team should stick to the original plan. That leaves Italy in an odd place, officially eliminated, practically sidelined, but still attached to one of the tournament’s strangest side stories.
So the fairest way to frame it is this: Italy did not earn a place at the 2026 World Cup, but because Iran’s situation has generated real debate, Italy’s name remains in circulation as a theoretical fallback. For now, that is all it is, a remote possibility, not a developing probability, and a reminder that this World Cup has already produced drama well beyond the pitch.
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Sources: GiveMeSport, FIFA, Associated Press, ESPN.
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