Tehran, Ankara in talks over pre-World Cup friendly

The Football Federations of Iran and Turkey are in talks over a friendly game between the two national teams next month, Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali announced on Friday.
Both sides will be among the 48 teams competing at the upcoming FIFA World Cup, which will be cohosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11.
Iran is scheduled to kick off its World Cup campaign against New Zealand at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, on June 16, before facing Belgium at the same arena five days later.
The final round of the Group G fixtures will see Iran take on Egypt in Seattle, Washington, on June 26.
Turkey, meanwhile, defeated Kosovo 1-0 in one of four European playoff finals last week to book a place in the finals for the first time in 24 years.
The European team will be part of Group D, alongside USA, Paraguay, and Australia.
Despite all domestic league matches suspended in the country since February 28 following the breakout of a military conflict between Iran and a US-Israeli coalition, the Iranian national team played in a friendly double header against Nigeria and Costa Rica in Anatalya, Turkey, in the latest international break.
Team Melli fell to a 2-1 loss to Nigeria on March 27 but hammered Costa Rica 5-0 four days later.
Questions still remain regarding Iran's participation at the global showpiece after Donyamali said that the country's National Security Council "will make a final call on the matter."
Last week, the Sports Ministry prohibited all Iranian teams and athletes from visiting "adversary countries" for safety reasons amid the ongoing war in the region.
US President Donald Trump said in mid-March that Team Melli would be "welcome to The World Cup", but he doesn't believe "it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety."
However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Anatalya to watch Iran's victory over Costa Rica from the stands and offer his full backing for Team Melli despite Trump's bold remarks.
Iran will be looking to progress beyond the group phase at the World Cup finals for the first time in seven attempts.
 
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