New Zealand footballers willing to play Iran World Cup match outside US
The teams are set to play on June 15 in Los Angeles, but Iran has threatened to boycott its matches due to the war.
New Zealand football players have said they would be willing to play Iran outside the United States in their opening match at the FIFA World Cup 2026, as uncertainty persists over the fixture amid geopolitical tensions. Iran were one of the first nations to qualify for the finals, but their participation has been in doubt since the US-Israel war on Iran broke out at the end of February. Team Melli are scheduled to play all three of their opening-round group matches in the US, with their June 15 opener against New Zealand in Los Angeles, but the Iranian Football Federation has threatened to boycott fixtures on US soil.
New Zealand are preparing as if the Los Angeles match will go ahead, but players said on Wednesday that they could accommodate a switch to outside of the US if necessary. Netherlands-based midfielder Ryan Thomas said Iran had earned their spot at the World Cup, and the All Whites would be able to manage the extra attention generated by the match. “They deserve to be there as qualifiers,” he told the Reuters news agency.
“If we’ve got to play them in Mexico or Canada, then yeah, we play them there. It’s not really a big deal for me. ” During the June 11-July 19 World Cup, New Zealand will be based in the southern California city of San Diego, which is a short drive to the Mexican border.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said last week that her country would be open to hosting Iran’s World Cup fixtures, although the final say on any venue switch would be FIFA’s. Australia-based winger Kosta Barbarouses said the players would leave it up to “the people in charge” to make a decision on the match, but did not think a switch would harm New Zealand’s campaign. “I don’t think it would derail our preparation at all,” he told Reuters.