Iran, who have played three group stage matches at the 2026 World Cup, now need to know if they can advance to the last 32.
Published June 27, 2026
Emotions were still raw for Iran’s players and their coach after the final whistle blew in their final group stage game, a 1-1 draw with Egypt, at Seattle Stadium on Friday night.
Iran, aiming to advance from the group stage for the first time in World Cup history, finished Group G in third place and will now await the results of Saturday’s matches.
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‘The Meri’ looked to have secured their place in the Round of 32 with a stoppage-time goal, but Shoje Khalilzadeh’s goal was ruled offside after a VAR review.
It has been a tumultuous World Cup experience for Iran as the war in the Middle East continues. Iran moved its training camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. They are also facing logistical problems traveling to and from the US for their three group matches.
Iran is in a good position to win one of the eight third-place spots in the last 32, but coach Amir Galenoei said Iran had been treated “very unfairly” and urged FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “stand up” against co-hosts the United States.
“The hosts weren’t very good for us,” Galenoei said after Friday’s game. “We urge FIFA to ensure that organizers no longer treat teams and players in the same way. We hope that Mr. Infantino will actually stand up to such behavior.”
Friday’s game was played against the backdrop of Seattle’s annual Pride Fest, with the city’s host committee unofficially declaring June 26 a “Pride Match” ahead of Egypt vs. Iran in the December draw.
Although there were no official Pride activities seen at the FIFA fan festival or inside the stadium, several rainbow flags were seen mixed in with the crowd.
Hundreds of supporters of the Islamic Republic’s prominent dissident Reza Pahlavi took to the streets to rally outside the stadium. The two hours leading up to the crucial game created a peaceful but decidedly tense atmosphere.
When the match started, Iran quickly fell behind with Egypt’s goal in the 5th minute. However, Iran equalized nine minutes later. The score remained tied until the late hydration break, after which Iran made a ferocious attempt to grab the winning point.
After a flurry of activity in front of Egypt’s goal, they looked like they had it when Khalilzadeh found the back of the net. A “VAR challenge” message then appeared on the scoreboard and the goal was canceled a few minutes later.
Iran maintained the pressure and hit one more shot against the crossbar before the final whistle.
After the match, team captain Mehdi Taremi called it a “disaster World Cup”. It’s not about Iran’s performance, but about how he believes the team has been treated.
Taremi pointed out that some of Iran’s logistics staff do not have visas to travel with the team, and also noted the absence of Iranian media at the games and new press conferences. It is also true that during the match, while Egyptian media members cheered loudly in the press box, there was no noticeable presence of Iranian media.
Iran was denied permission to stay overnight in the United States for its third consecutive match and was scheduled to land in Tijuana early Saturday morning. It was the latest in a series of actions that Galenoei said had “deprived” his team of the opportunity to train properly and recover mentally and physically from the rigors of World Cup matches.
“I want to say to the players and the team that I’m proud of them,” Galenoei said. “What these young people, these players did, should go down in history because the host country treated us very unfairly.
“Their attitude towards us is really terrible and I hope the world realizes that. Despite all these problems, we were able to perform well and the world is proud of the Iranian people and our team. Despite all the obstacles and hurdles they put in our way, I think that is our biggest achievement.”
Just like after the second group game in Los Angeles, Iran left a handwritten note in the locker room. They thanked Seattle for its hospitality, thanked Iranians for their “hearts and voices” and said soccer was a “test of character.”
We then headed to the airport to catch our flight back to Tijuana.
