Iran were denied a last-gasp winner against Egypt in a thrilling finale to Friday’s Group G contest at Seattle Stadium.
Shoja Khalilzadeh had one of the most remarkable moments of the 2026 World Cup ripped away from him as Iran were denied by VAR in a dramatic 1-1 draw with Egypt.
A point may still be enough for Iran to qualify for the round of 32, but they thought they had snatched victory – and second place in Group G – when Khalilzadeh bundled home in the 93rd minute.
It would have been a comeback win for Iran, who fell behind to Mahmoud Saber‘s fifth-minute strike, which crept through the grasp of Alireza Beiranvand.
Yet Egypt, already sure of their place in the knockout stage, were immediately put on the back foot when Mohamed Abdelmonem caught Mehdi Taremi in the penalty area.
The Iran captain stepped up to take the spot-kick, only for Mostafa Shobeir to dive the right way and make the save.
Iran, though, were not to be deterred, and they had their equaliser in the 14th minute, with Ramin Rezaeian drilling in from a tight angle after Shobeir had kept out Milad Mohammadi’s shot.
Egypt star Mohamed Salah went off just before the hour, and appeared to have an ice pack strapped to his left leg on the bench.
Without Salah, Egypt dropped further and further back, and Taremi was inches away from putting Iran ahead when his glancing header hit the post.
The pressure appeared to have resulted in a breakthrough in stoppage time, with Shobeir making a mess of a clearance and Khalilzadeh turning in to spark incredible celebrations from the Iran fans at Seattle Stadium.
VAR, though, intervened, with part of Khalilzadeh’s boot having been in an offside position in the build-up.
There was still time for one more twist, with Saeid Ezatolahi heading against the crossbar, but Iran now face an anxious wait to see if their three points will be enough to claim a spot in the next round.
Iran Give It Their All, but Will It Be Enough?
The pressure was off Egypt, though Hossam Hassan’s team were in pole position to top the group, and instead have relinquished that to Belgium, who hammered New Zealand 5-1.
And if not for the grace of the tightest of offside calls, Egypt’s flat display would have been punished, and they would have ended up going through as one of the best third-place teams.
As it is, Egypt will take on Australia in Dallas, while Iran – despite being unbeaten – are not yet sure of their fate.
Iran are just the third Asian nation to finish the group stage of a World Cup unbeaten, joining Japan (2002 and 2026) and South Korea (2002).
They finished the match with an expected goals value of 1.94, the nation’s highest xG in a World Cup match (besting their 1.88 vs. USA in 1998).
The tone for a thriller was set early: Both Egypt (4:26) and Iran (13:13) scored their fastest goals in their World Cup history.
But it is the chaos at the end that will live long in the memory, especially for Iranian supporters, while Egypt will hope Salah was only taken off as a precaution. The 57 minutes he played were his fewest in a World Cup match (previous low was 76 against Belgium earlier this tournament).
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Egypt vs Iran stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group G meeting at Seattle Stadium on 25 June.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Egypt vs Iran: Post-Match Opta Facts
Egypt clinched their spot in the knockout stage due to results that went final an hour before they kicked off against IR Iran. It is the first time Egypt will advance to the knockout rounds after playing in a group stage (played in 1934 edition, which was all knockout rounds).
IR Iran are the third Asian nation to finish the group stage of a FIFA World Cup unbeaten joining Japan (2002 and 2026) and Korea Republic (2002).
Both Egypt (4:26) and IR Iran (13:13) scored their fastest goal in FIFA World Cup play in their respective nation’s history.
Ramin Rezaeian scored his third goal in FIFA World Cup play, moving past Mehdi Taremi (two) for most ever scored by an Iranian player. Rezaeian’s four goal involvements (3G 1A) are also the most in IR Iran’s FIFA World Cup history.
Trezeguet’s assist on Mahmoud Sabor’s goal was Trezeguet’s second goal involvement in his two matches at this FIFA World Cup (1G 1A). In the three FIFA World Cup matches he played in 2018, he did not have a single one.
Mostafa Shobeir became the second Egyptian goalkeeper to save a penalty kick in a FIFA World Cup match, joining Essam El Hadary, who did so against Saudi Arabia in 2018.
IR Iran finished the match with an expected goals value of 1.94, the nation’s highest xG in a FIFA World Cup match (besting their 1.88 vs. USA in 1998).
Both IR Iran and Egypt received two yellow cards in the first half of the match. It is the only time in this year’s FIFA World Cup that a match had four or more yellow cards shown in a first half.
The draw between Egypt and IR Iran was the third different FIFA World Cup match today between teams from Asia and Africa (Cabo Verde drew Saudi Arabia, Senegal beat Iraq). There had never been one than one such meeting on a single date prior to today.
Mohammed Salah made his fifth FIFA World Cup start, becoming the first Egyptian player to reach that milestone. Salah’s 57 minutes played against IR Iran were his fewest in a FIFA World Cup match (previous low was 76 against Belgium earlier this month).
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