Gianni Infantino, president of world football's governing body, said that Iran will take part in the upcoming World Cup and play its group matches in the United States as scheduled, despite the ongoing war involving Iran, the United States and Israel. Speaking during Iran's 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in Turkey, Infantino said he had met with the players and coaching staff and that everything was in order.

Iran had been in talks about potentially relocating its matches to Mexico because of security concerns, and Mexico's president said her country was prepared to host the games if necessary. Earlier mixed signals from United States President Donald Trump raised doubts, but Iranian football officials insisted that no one could exclude their national team from the tournament and said host nations must honor their commitments.

Before the match, Iran's players wore black armbands and held photos of children said to have been killed in a recent airstrike on a primary school in southern Iran. The strike reportedly killed at least 170 people, and a newspaper in the United States reported that preliminary military findings indicated the school was hit by mistake. On the field, Iran delivered a dominant performance, scoring five goals in preparation for the tournament, which begins on June 11.