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Who: Egypt vs Iran
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup Group G matches
Location: Seattle Stadium, Seattle
When: Friday, 8pm local time (3am GMT Saturday)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 23:30 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
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Mohamed Salah’s Egypt will aim to secure a place in the World Cup finals for the first time in 92 years when the North African giants face Iran in Seattle on Friday night, a tournament that has been dominated by politics rather than games.
The seven-time African champions, buoyed by a 3-1 victory over New Zealand in Egypt’s first appearance at the World Cup, will advance to the last 32 with a win over Iran, but a draw could be enough depending on other results.
Despite dealing with unprecedented World Cup geopolitical dynamics, with co-hosts the United States going to war with the country and subsequently leading to travel restrictions for group matches, Iran recorded back-to-back draws but remains well within striking distance of making it to the finals for the first time.
Al Jazeera tells you everything you need to know about Egypt vs. Iran.
Salah, Egypt sets out to make history
Despite its dominance at the continental level, Egypt has never fully stepped up on the world stage. But things may change come Friday.
The Pharaohs are on the brink of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time 92 years after making their debut in the tournament in 1934. In the words of their beloved forward Mohamed Salah, this qualification will be “the greatest achievement” in the Arab nation’s history.
For millions of Egyptians, the match against Iran will give them more reason to rejoice, with Salah also closing in on his personal record. Salah, nicknamed the ‘King of Egypt’, is just one goal away from becoming Egypt’s joint top scorer, equaling Hossam Hassan’s 69 goals.
Interestingly, Hassan, a former striker who played for the Egyptian national team from 1985 to 2006, is currently the head coach of the World Cup team.
“We’re not betting everything on one or two stars, we’re just betting on them to bring it to us,” Hassan said, trying to ease the pressure on the 34-year-old forward.
He added that Salah’s central position gives him more freedom, with the former Liverpool player scoring one goal and providing two assists so far.
“I think he’s a new version of Mo Salah at the moment. He’s playing in a new position. He’s playing very freely in a very creative way,” the manager explained.
Iran wants to make its nation proud
During the 2026 World Cup, Iran has suffered from severe travel restrictions imposed after the United States, the host country for the tournament’s games, launched a war against the Middle Eastern country alongside Israel on February 28. The team said the restrictions are impacting players’ ability to prepare for games and rest and recover after games.
For the opening two matches against New Zealand and Belgium, Iran was only allowed to travel to the U.S. venue within 24 hours after each match, and had to return directly to its training base in Tijuana, Mexico, after each match.
U.S. authorities eased travel restrictions ahead of the game against Egypt, but Iran’s soccer federation said Wednesday that officials had “caused problems” as Iran traveled from its home base in Mexico for Friday’s match.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei told reporters on Thursday that restrictive measures had “affected us physically” in previous matches, but now Iran is “more physically fit and we are in a better position.”
“We are going to move forward. We are not going to think about other issues… We aim to bring joy to our people,” Galenoei said, while also refusing to take part in the Pride celebrations surrounding the match.
Iran is aiming to advance to the World Cup finals tournament for the eighth time.
Egypt vs Iran prediction
Opta’s supercomputer calculated that Egypt had a 44.1% chance of winning the match and Iran had a 24.6% chance of winning. The probability that the game will end in a draw is 31.3%.
Overall, Egypt are favorites with a 62.51 percent chance of finishing Group G first, according to Opta.
Egypt vs Iran: Kick-off time, TV channel
Egypt: beIN SPORTS MAX 5, beIN SPORTS MAX 1 (6am Egypt Standard Time, Saturday) Iran: IRIB TV3, IRIB Varzesh, Persiana Sports, GEM TV (6:30am Iran Standard Time, Saturday) UK: BBC iPlayer, BBC Two, Red Button 1 (4am Saturday BST) US: FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock, FS1 (10:30 p.m. ET)
To see the TV listings for your country, visit the FIFA TV listings schedule here.
What is the scenario for Group G?
Group G will be very close, with all four teams vying for a place in the final round.
After two games, Egypt leads the group with four points, Iran is second with two points, Belgium is third, and New Zealand is bottom with one point.
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups and the top eight teams in third place will advance to the Round of 32.
Will Egypt or Iran make it through Group G?
yes. If Egypt defeats Iran, they will secure the top spot, but if Belgium cannot beat New Zealand by more than three points, a draw will suffice.
Iran also has a chance to take first place and could do so if they beat Egypt and Belgium don’t beat New Zealand. If Iran wins in the group stage, they could face the United States in the round of 16.
form guide
(Last 5 games, newest first)
Egypt: WDLWD
Iran: DDWWW
Iran has outperformed Egypt in the past five games.
Iran held Belgium to a goalless draw in their last match and drew with New Zealand in their World Cup opening match. Before that, they defeated Mali and Gambia in pre-World Cup friendlies, and beat Costa Rica in a friendly in March.
Egypt recorded their first World Cup win by defeating New Zealand in their second group match, but drew with Belgium in the opening match of the tournament. They lost to Brazil in a pre-World Cup friendly, defeated Russia, and held Spain to a draw in a friendly in March.
Egypt vs Iran: Team News
Egyptian duo Hamdi Fathy (hamstring) and Hossam Abdelmaguid (head) are doubtful due to injuries.
There have been no reports of injuries to Iran’s players heading into the final match.
Egypt’s expected lineup
(4-2-3-1): Shobair (goalkeeper). Honey, Ibrahim, Rabia, El Fotou. Atheya, Racine. Zico, Salah, Ashur. Mamouche
Iran’s expected lineup
(5-4-1): Beiranvand (goalkeeper). Rezaeian, Kanani, Nemati, Khalilzadeh, Safi. Jahanbaksh, Ghods, Ezatollah, Mohebi. Taremi
