Egypt drew 1-1 with Iran at Seattle Stadium and secured its qualification for the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, while the Iranian team was waiting for other results to see if it advances as one of the best third parties.
The African team opened the scoring in the 5th minute through Mahmoud Saber, who took advantage of a mistake by Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand. Shortly after, Iran had the opportunity to equalize from the penalty spot, but Mehdi Taremi squandered the charge in the 11th minute.
The Iranian response came just three minutes later. At minute 14, Ramin Rezaeian scored 1-1 with a finish that restored equality and kept his team alive. From that moment on, Iran took the initiative and looked for the goal that would give them qualification.
The most controversial action of the match occurred in replacement time. Shoja Khalilzadeh sent the ball into the back of the net and sparked the Iranian celebration, but the referee annulled the goal after a VAR review for an offside at the start of the play.
With the tie, Egypt reached five points and advanced as second in Group G, behind Belgium, which finished as leader after beating New Zealand with authority. Iran finished with three units and will have to wait for the definition of the other groups to find out if they can advance as one of the best third parties.
The result left opposite sensations. Egypt celebrated their move to the knockout phase, while Iran ended in frustration after seeing how the VAR deprived them of a victory that could change their destiny in the 2026 World Cup.