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Trump to hand out World Cup championship trophy

President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup Final in New Jersey next month and help present the championship trophy, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday. The final, to be held in the home of the New York Giants and Jets on July 19, will be the culmination of the first World Cup held on…

US Grants Iran Football Team Extra Day Before World Cup Match

The Iranian national team will be granted an extra day in the US to prepare for its upcoming World Cup match, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, the latest in an ongoing back and forth between the football team and its hosts.

Cristiano Ronaldo makes history with World Cup 2026 goal for Portugal

Controversy over whether the 41-year-old Ronaldo was fit enough and in good enough form to start at the tournament has plagued him dating back to the 2022 World Cup.

DHS Changes the Rules for Iran’s World Cup Team Yet Again

The Department of Homeland Security is finally allowing the Iranian World Cup soccer team to travel to match locations a day early—something that nearly every other participating country in the tournament has been able to do. But they still won’t be allowed to stay overnight after their games on U.S. soil.“Ahead of the match in Seattle on June 26, the Iranian team will be allowed to come in match day minus two, so two days before the match. They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match,” a DHS spokesperson told NBC. “Again, the President wants to make sure that we’re talking about what actually happens on the pitch.… A lot of that is making sure that things are safe and secure, not just around the stadiums, but around base camps and training sites.”This decision comes after the Trump administration first denied the visas of 15—then 11—team assistants, blocking them from entering the U.S. The team itself was essentially booted from the country right after their matches in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 21, forcing them to stay in Tijuana, Mexico, rather than their abandoned base camp in Tucson, Arizona, as originally planned, or anywhere near the city they were playing in. The team also still has to go through hours of security checks each time they enter the U.S. from Mexico.This constant back-and-forth is detrimental to both the performance and the morale of the players, who have nothing to do with America’s ongoing war on Iran.“I think it’s not good for the football,” said team captain Mehdi Taremi last week. “In [the] World Cup, you have to prepare good for the next game, which is a lot of stress for the players and the staff and everyone. But we don’t have that support, and I think FIFA have to help us more than this. Let’s see what’s going to happen in the future.”Iran qualified for the World Cup in the spring of 2025, months before the joint U.S.-Israeli attack that started the war in February.

U.S. loosens Iran's travel restrictions for next World Cup match

The Iranian soccer team will be allowed to travel to the U.S. two days before its next World Cup match in Seattle.Why it matters: There are strict travel restrictions on the Iranian delegation during the tournament, which is co-hosted by the U.S.For Iran's first two matches in Los Angeles, Iranian players were allowed to enter the U.S. the day before they played each match, White House FIFA Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani told AP last week.That represented a softening of the initial policy, which would have required Iran to fly to the U.S. on the same day as they played. There are no direct flights to Seattle from Iran's World Cup home base in Tijuana, Mexico. The latest: "For the Iranian team's third match in Seattle on June 26, the team has been permitted to come into the U.S. two days before the match. The Iran team will still be required to leave the day the match ends," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday."The overall security measures and protocol are the same. We remain committed to providing the safest tournament possible for players, staff, and fans alike," the agency said.Iran's next match is in Seattle on Friday, June 26 against Egypt. If Iran finishes second in its group, where it currently sits in the standings, the team will play its next match in Dallas.Catch up quick: Iran moved its base camp to Tijuana from Arizona just weeks before the tournament started as part of the compromised travel logistics. Iranian players also received their visas from the American Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, but several members of the football federation's staff were denied, according to the New York Times. Earlier in the tournament's preparations, Iran requested that all of its matches be moved to Mexico. But FIFA didn't change the fixtures.