A 3-3 draw between Austria and Algeria ultimately decided Iran’s fate, eliminating Team Melli from the 2026 World Cup.
Published June 28, 2026
Iran’s hopes of reaching the World Cup finals tournament for the first time came to a bitter end as Austria scored a last-minute equalizer against Algeria, knocking them out of the top eight teams for third place in the competition.
Amir Ghalenoei’s side ended their Group G campaign with a 1-1 draw with Egypt on Friday and now wait to find out on Saturday whether their three points are enough to advance to the round of 32.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
Iran had already suffered a major setback when their stoppage-time winner against Egypt was ruled out for offside.
They therefore needed other results in their group stage matches to advance, and for several minutes on Saturday it looked like Iran would push through when Algeria scored in stoppage time to take a 3-2 lead over Austria.
However, Austria almost equalized with the last kick of the match, saving a 3-3 draw, with both teams advancing and denying Iran a place in the knockout stages for their seventh World Cup appearance.
Iran will finish the tournament unbeaten after draws with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt due to off-field issues.
Uncertainty over visas and the U.S.-Israel war against Iran meant teams had to commute from their tournament base in co-host Mexico for three group games in the United States.
U.S. officials had required players to arrive within 24 hours of a game and leave the same day, but for the final game in Seattle, restrictions were relaxed slightly, allowing players to arrive two days before the game.
US President Donald Trump said in March that he welcomed Iran’s participation in the World Cup but did not believe it was appropriate for them to be in the US “for their own lives and safety.”
After the draw with Egypt, captain Mehdi Taremi described the situation as a logistical “disaster” and questioned whether his team would really be welcome in the competition.
“Is there anyone who wants to help us?” Taremi asked reporters. “If they want us to leave, fine, let’s leave. But it’s not fair.”
Key members of the delegation were unable to join the team in the United States, and Coach Galenoi said the team was “suppressed.”
As it turned out, the Iranian operation was over in a flash.
If Taremi had taken the penalty in the first half against Egypt, or if his header had hit the net instead of the crossbar, Iran might have been looking forward to reaching the knockout stages for the first time.
