Despite the Italian national football team’s loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina, they could still qualify for WC-2026.
Medianews.az, citing Offsideplus.az, reports that conflicts in the Middle East and Iran could be the reason for this.
Currently, both Iran and Iraq have decided to participate in the World Cup despite the ongoing conflicts. FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently stated that regardless of the problems between Iran and the USA, Iran could still play its matches in the World Cup to be held in the United States.
If Iran refuses to participate in WC-2026, according to FIFA’s Article 6.2 of the regulations, they will be replaced by the “candidate who took second place directly in the relevant qualifying playoff or the candidate with the highest ranking from that confederation” as an alternative. In this case, the country that advanced to the Asian playoff stage before losing to Iraq should be the United Arab Emirates.
However, FIFA is considering giving the Italian national team a chance and plans to change the rules. The top football authority wants to present a "golden ticket" for WC-2026 to the highest-ranked team.