Iran’s knockout status hangs by a thread after most dramatic – and agonising – World Cup moment so far

For an Iran squad whose simple presence at these World Cup Finals was a precariously run thing for so many months, the continuation of their unprecedented journey in North America is hanging, like so many others, by an excruciating 24-hour thread. But only after the most enthralling – and agonising – seven minutes of stoppage time you will ever see. For West Ham in May, see Iran in June: glorious goalscoring moments at the death taken away in the cruellest of ways. It seemed time stood still in the Egypt penalty area as Iran defender Shojae Khalilzadeh swept the ball home before sliding on his knees towards his euphoric teammates pitchside, in what was the moment of the 2026 World Cup so far. And yet, heartbreakingly, the Iran defender did not cater for the two most unpopular words in football. “After review,” said Polish referee Szymon Marciniak. VAR had its say. We know what comes next. And even after the most marginal of offside calls against Khalilzadeh, Iran were inches from triumph thereafter. A goal-bound shot from Ramin Rezaeian was heroically blocked; Saeid Ezatolahi smashed a header onto the bar and over. Then, the referee put them out of their misery. For what could have been second-place and a Friday date with Australia in Dallas – ironically, where VAR is based throughout this World Cup – is instead their own version of footballing purgatory. Egypt celebrate after VAR saves their day (Reuters) But, some perspective: a squad participating against all the odds – a country at war with the co-hosts, facing protestations surrounding their pro-regime outlook at every corner – have so admirably emerged from Group G unbeaten. Three matches, three draws and a goal difference standing at zero. Will it be enough to sneak through? Probably. By Saturday night, Amir Ghalenoei and his players will know for sure if they’re extending their stay at their Mexican base in Tijuana or not. Here, in a contest against Egypt where a win would have been enough for progression, they huffed and puffed late on for a moment to savour but, excruciatingly, fell short. For Mohamed Salah and Egypt, they are through in second place, as Belgium secured a four-goal victory against New Zealand to take top spot. Mo Salah and Co will instead face the Socceroos while Iran are – as it stands – sixth in the third-place pecking order and pencilled in to face Switzerland in Vancouver on Thursday. But with three groups still to be completed, that could all change. And, such is the questionable format alteration, it could all change very quickly indeed. For an occasion long billed as the first-ever World Cup Pride match – fashioned by Seattle’s local Pride+ Match Advisory committee, to coincide with the city’s annual Pride Weekend and the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots – there was a notable lack of rainbow flags, both on the walk across the waterfront to Lumen Field and inside the 68,000-capacity stadium, as day turned to dusk in Washington state on Friday night. On the contrary, it was not so much a pre-match billing of pride but, rather, numerous instances of peaceful protest. For the anti-Iranian regime march outside the Quality Athletics gastropub on S King Street, you had an anti-Israel small-sided football match fifty metres around the corner, the pitch outlined by pro-Palestine banners. A further 25m down the slope, a small group of “Trump is a fascist” demonstrators spread their message via leaflets. One sight of contrasting views saw a pro-Christianity preacher, relentless in his oratory, despite hundreds of pre-revolutionary Iranian flags around him. Enveloping all of them – not in a form of protest but a form of party – were thousands of Egyptian fans, dancing merrily with optimism after their nation’s first-ever World Cup win last time out. Despite the myriad of perspectives, the kaleidoscope of multi-nationalism and religious beliefs, it all took place without violent flashpoints, to the relief of the Seattle Police Department looking on. Protests against the Iranian regime took place before the match (Getty) Yet for all the preamble, it was worth remembering that there was a high-stakes international football clash taking place. Would the match live up to the occasion? It most certainly would. Egypt, sniffing a first-ever top-spot group-stage finish at a World Cup, took the lead after five minutes; midfielder Mahmoud Saber, who turns out for ZED in the Egyptian Premier League, latched on to a loose ball after Iran keeper Alireza Beiranvand parried Salah’s tame effort. His left-foot shot, somehow, sneaked through the keeper as well as a defender lunging desperately on the line. But Iran wasted no time in their own attacking endeavours. Captain Mehdi Taremi nipped in ahead of Egypt defender Mohamed Abdelmonem in the box and referee Marciniak – who gave three penalties in the 2022 World Cup final – showed no hesitation once again here. Yet Egypt keeper Mostafa Shobeir guessed right, saving well down low to his left. Ramin Rezaeian equalised for Iran (Getty) Taremi’s anguish soon turned to relief, though, when three minutes later, Shobeir could only direct a strong left-handed save from Milad Mohammadi’s shot into the path of onrushing Iran wing-back Rezaeian, who struck into the roof of the net from an extremely tight angle. A quarter of an hour in – and it was helter-skelter stuff in this Group G finale. From that moment on, the match – and the group as a whole – were delicately poised. As Belgium cranked through the gears against New Zealand, Egypt striker Trezeguet worked the opposition keeper and Rezaeian had another sighter in the box, skying a first-time effort on his left foot. Yet as the match progressed in the second-half, and news travelled south from Vancouver, the onus shifted on Iran to push for a history-making moment. Play across both sides of the pitch became tetchy, frantic and beautifully raw. In the dying minutes, Taremi slammed a header onto the crossbar on the stroke of stoppage time, though a foul was given in favour of the Egypt goalkeeper. It looked to be Iran’s final punch. We knew nothing. Then, that stoppage-time finale. That ‘I was there’ moment only football can provide. That realisation that football is not the same anymore. American-inspired video review snatches the moment away. For better or for worse? Ask Iran come Saturday night.