Spain Threatens To Boycott 2026 FIFA World Cup If Israel Qualifies For The Tournament
Madrid, Spain: The FIFA World Cup 2026 is all set to take place in three countries — the US, Canada and Mexico—next year. As the qualifying matches are being held for the world’s biggest football tournament, Spanish government officials recently threatened that the country may pull their national team out of the World Cup if Israel qualifies for it.
The 2010 World Cup champions team is the one among those secured their place in the tournament early in the qualifying rounds. However, according to reports, Spanish football manager, Luis de la Fuente has suggested withdrawing from the World Cup in protest that Israel also qualifies for the tournament.
The West Asian country is currently third in their qualifying group but have a real chance of securing at least a play-off spot. The country is currently six points behind group leaders Norway but level on points with second place Italy, with three games remaining. The group winner will eventually qualify for the World Cup.
The Spanish team’s decision to pull away from the match is Israel participates in it in protest against the Jewish nation’s genocidal aggression against Palestinians in Gaza. Notably, Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, last week called for Israel to be excluded from international sports competitions given its unjustified horrific military campaign in Gaza.
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Sanchez said that Israel should be treated in the same way as Russia, which was banned from international competition by FIFA and UEFA following its invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022. He underlined that Israel cannot continue to use any international platform to whitewash its image.
