Drama-laden draw leaves Iran in limbo as Egypt set up last-32 clash with Australia.
2026 World Cup
1-1
Match Report
Shoja Khalilzadeh had one of the most remarkable goals 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 told 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.
Egypt 1-1 Iran
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) June 27, 2026
Egypt finish second in Group G, while Iran wait to see if they emerge as one of the top third-place finishers after having a stoppage-time goal pulled back that would have secured their spot. pic.twitter.com/uCOjivXIwJ
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 v the United States 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 (his previous low was 76 against Belgium earlier this tournament).
Line-ups
Egypt XI: Salah, Ramy Rabia, Trezeguet, Mohamed Hany, Ahmed Fatouh, Mohanad Lasheen, Emam Ashour, Oufa Shobeir, Mahmoud Saber, Mohamed Abdelmonem, Mostafa Ziko
Subs: El Mahdi Soliman, Mohamed El Shenawy, Yasser Ibrahim, Zizo, Karim Hafez, Omar Marmoush, Nabil Dunga, Haissem Hassan, Ibrahim Adel, Marwan Ateya, Tarek Alaa, Mohamed Alaa, Hamza Abdelkarim
Iran XI: R. Rezaeian, Shoja Khalilzadeh, M. Taremi, S. Ghoddos, Hossein Kanaani, A. Beiranvand, S. Ezatolahi, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Mohammad Mohebi, Mohammad Ghorbani
Subs: E. Hajsafi, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Jahanbakhsh, Ali Alipour, M. Torabi, R. Cheshmi, Dennis Eckert Ayensa, Payam Niazmand, Mehdi Ghayedi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Saleh Hardani, Arya Yousefi, Danial Eiri, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Shahriar Moghanlou