In 25 days, Ireland play their biggest match in a decade – a World Cup qualification playoff that was secured thanks to two of the most beautiful victories in the history of the national team. But we live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. Now, his peace prize laureate has presented him with a problem by attacking the country with the best record in Asian World Cup qualifying. He knows that, with nothing in the Fifa guidebook to govern “what happens when World Cup host attacks a participant”, it will fall to him to improvise a solution to the Iran question. Infantino displayed his discretion last year when deciding which US club side would fill the “host” slot at the 2025 Fifa Club World Cup.

Source: The Irish Times March 02, 2026 13:50 UTC