
Iran's possible World Cup withdrawal – Plus the Barca fan at the wrong St. James’ Park & Llantwit Major’s wacky cup run
From The Sweeper - A World Football Podcast by Lee Wingate and Paul Watson
March 17, 2026 · 32 min
About this episode
The episode discusses Iran's potential withdrawal from the World Cup amidst geopolitical tensions, a travel mix-up involving a Barcelona fan, and a humorous cup run by Llantwit Major.
A World Cup co-host is at war with another participating nation. Since the United States launched strikes against Iran at the end of last month, the big question in the football world has been whether the latter will still play at the World Cup. So will Iran play or not? Could they even face the United States? And who would likely replace them if they were to withdraw? Today, we run through all the conceivable scenarios and analyse the most turbulent build-up to a World Cup in living memory. Plus: The Barcelona fan who went to the wrong St. James’ Park and Welsh club Llantwit Major’s hilarious cup run. BUY THE SHIRTS: https://stingz.co/collections/sweeper-podcast Get £6 off with Patreon: https://patreon.com/sweeperpod The Guardian on the 1930 World Cup: https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/may/13/world-cup-stunning-moments-25-conte-verde-uruguay The Los Angeles Times on India: https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/sports-now/story/2011-07-19/did-india-withdraw-from-the-1950-world-cup-because-they-were-not-allowed-to-play-barefoot Chapters 00:00 – Intro 00:55 – Iran’s World Cup predicament 04:35 – USA fit to host tournament? 08:09 – Scenario 1 – Iran play at…
People in this episode
Hosts: Lee Wingate, Paul Watson
Topics covered
- Iran's World Cup situation
- USA and World Cup hosting
- Football withdrawals
- Travel mix-up
- Cup run stories
Keywords
- World Cup
- Iran
- United States
- Barcelona
- Llantwit Major
- football
- withdrawal
- travel mix-up
- cup run
Sponsors
Patreon
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Barcelona
Places: Iran, United States, St. James’ Park, Llantwit Major
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