Trump calls for replacing Iran with Italy

Paolo Zampolli, US President Donald Trump's envoy, called on the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to replace Iran's national team with its Italian counterpart in the 2026 World Cup finals for the same game, according to what the Financial Times reported.

The newspaper quoted the American special envoy as saying that seeing Italy, crowned champion four times, in the tournament that will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada would be a “dream,” despite its failure to qualify after losing in the playoff last month.

The same source reported that this proposal came within the framework of efforts to repair relations between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, after relations between them became tense following her criticism of his attack on Pope Leo XIV over the backdrop of the war with Iran.

However, Andrea Abudi, the Italian Minister of Sports, said on Thursday that returning Italy to the competition is “first, not possible, and secondly, inappropriate, because qualification is decided on the field,” according to what was reported by the Italian news agencies ANSA and AGI.

This position was supported by Luciano Bonfilio, president of the Italian Olympic Committee, who said: "I would be humiliated. You should deserve your place in the World Cup."

Zampolli told the newspaper: "I confirm that I proposed to Trump and to Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, that Italy replace Iran in the World Cup. I am Italian by origin, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri in a tournament held in the United States. With four titles, the team has justification for its participation."

In 2022, after the Italian team’s previous failure in the same stage of the qualifiers, Zampolli had also proposed to the International Federation to exclude Iran due to what he described as violent security repression in the country, with the aim of providing the opportunity for the “Azzurri” to qualify for the World Cup finals in Qatar. However, this proposal was not successful.

Italy failed to reach the finals for the third time in a row, after losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoff final.

The Iranian embassy in Rome responded with a statement in which it said that this proposal reflects what it described as the “moral bankruptcy” of the United States, stressing that Italy does not need “political privileges” to prove its football status and history in football.

The Iranian embassy added, in a post on the “X” platform, that “Italy gained its football greatness on the field, not thanks to political privileges.”