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Egypt and Iran concluded the group stage of the with a 1-1 draw on Friday, June 26, at Lumen Field in Seattle, in a match that will be remembered for the missed penalty by Mehdi Taremi in the 11th minute.
The match started with speed. Within five minutes, Mohamed Saber put Egypt ahead with a goal that seemed to set the result in favor of the Africans. Iran responded immediately: the referee awarded a penalty to the Persians, and Taremi approached the eleven-meter spot with the chance to equalize. However, the Iranian star forward could not beat the Egyptian goalkeeper with his shot.
The advantage for Egypt lasted just nine more minutes. In the 14th minute, Ramin Rezaeian scored the equalizer for Iran, thus closing the goal tally of a match that, despite its intensity, did not see the ball hit the net again.
Egypt clearly dominated the rest of the match statistically: 62% possession compared to Iran's 38%, 15 shots to nine, and eight corners to one. Nonetheless, both teams were equal in shots on goal, with three for each, which reflects Iran's defensive solidity against Egypt's territorial superiority.
The match was physical and tense. A total of five yellow cards were issued — two for Egypt and three for Iran — with warnings distributed throughout the ninety minutes. Mohamed Salah, Egypt's indisputable star, was substituted in the 57th minute for Zizo without having been able to change the scoreline.
Taremi added another frustration in this 2026 World Cup: in the previous match against Belgium, the VAR disallowed a goal for offside, and against New Zealand, he had very few minutes, coming on in the 80th minute.
With the draw, the : Belgium finished first with five points and a goal difference of +4, followed by Egypt also with five points but with +2. Iran ended up in third place with three points —resulting from three draws in three matches— and a goal difference of zero. New Zealand was eliminated with just one point.
Belgium and Egypt advance directly to the Round of 32 as the top two teams in the group. Iran, with three points, remains a potential best third-place team, although their qualification depends on the results of the other groups in the tournament.
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