A far-fetched but not impossible scenario is circulating in the Italian media.
According to these reports, if Iran refuses to participate in the World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, FIFA could replace them with Italy, who is still looking for a solution for their bench and a way to recover.
More specifically, the question that naturally arises is why Italy? Especially since they were eliminated from the tournament after the debacle against Bosnia and have not participated in a World Cup since 2014.
The answer, according to reports from the Italian Press, lies in the FIFA statutes.
As it retains the right to choose the team with the highest position in the ranking, provided a vacancy arises.
So, if Iran refuses to play in America, the Azzurri have some hopes...
Of course, all of this is still theoretical, as at least for now there is no such possibility on the horizon.