Egypt v Iran: World Cup 2026 – live
NO GOAL! Egypt 1-1 Iran VAR has curtailed Iran’s delight with an offside call that must be by the narrowest of margins. ⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/1pm AEST/4am BST/11pm EDT ⚽️ Third-place table | Player guide | Golden Boot | Mail us ⚽️ New Zealand v Belgium – live news with Sam Lewis VAR has curtailed Iran’s delight with an offside call that must be by the narrowest of margins. VAR is checking. This is going to be a tight decision. … but was he offside? From the free-kick on the left Iran chuck the ball into the box, Shobeir makes a mess of it in the air and as the ball hits the deck there’s a snapshot blocked but the rebound comes out to Khalilzadeh who lashes home! Absolute delirium in the Iran dugout. IRAN LEAD! 90+2 mins: Egypt give the ball away cheaply in midfield and Lasheen is the latest into the referee’s book for an obvious professional foul to halt Iran’s counter. 90 mins: Six minutes of stoppage time to be played as Jahanbakhsh waits to come on for Iran. Mohebi is the man to make way. 89 mins: Almost! The corner is wicked, right on the goalkeeper’s head, who is swallowed by a crashing wave of white jerseys, one of which belongs to Taremi who flicks a header onto the bar. The whistle went for a foul on the keeper (which wasn’t there) so the goal wouldn’t have counted anyway. 88 mins: Iran decide to attack eventually and win their first corner of the night on the left. 87 mins: This is defence v defence with Egypt bringing 11 men behind the ball and Iran tapping passes to one another in front of them. 86 mins: Meanwhile in Seattle, both teams seem to have accepted their fate. Egypt will definitely qualify in second place, Iran seem happy to try their luck with what might happen tomorrow. Ha! Now it’s 4-1 Belgium! For a minute Egypt were back on top of the group but Romelu Lukaku has returned the Red Devils to first place almost immediately. New Zealand have scored against Belgium, narrowing the margin there to 3-1. 83 mins: Iran have been poor this half and again concede possession cheaply in midfield. Egypt try to go direct but are repelled initially then Marmoush finds room on a counter press, cuts inside and floats over an inviting cross that the tall Abdelkarim almost gets his head onto. 81 mins: Iran don’t know whether to stick or twist. Egypt invite the Iranian defence to stride forward but they suspect it’s a trap and delay anything purposeful. On the touchline Amir Ghalenoei is relatively passive but Hossam Hassan is a ball of nervous energy, 79 mins: Mohebi wins the ball in midfield but Taremi’s pass into the right channel is too fierce and the counter evaporates. As Egypt head back the other way Ezatolahi is drawn into a professional foul on the advancing Marmoush and he accepts the inevitable yellow card. 77 mins: Rangy teenager Abdelkarim replaces Ziko for Egypt. 76 mins: There is a lack of rhythm to this match which is reflective of the confusion over the group table. Iran seize on some broken play to curl over a decent cross from the left that Shobeir tries and fails to claim at the second attempt. A series of Iranians then try pot shots but all of them are charged down off the boot. 75 mins: Iran win the turnover in defence and build through the lines for the first time in an age. The eventual cross is headed clear. 73 mins: Iran go long, of course, and Mohebi has an opportunity to do something creative but merely gives away possession with a weak flick. This has been a weird second half from Team Melli. 72 mins: Trezeguet shows off his footwork on the left but he can’t find a teammate with his cross. 70 mins: Play resumes with an Egypt corner that Iran deal with in the air. 69 mins: Time for a hydration break and a chance for both coaches to crunch the numbers and pass on final instructions to their teams. As things stand Egypt will finish in second place (and take on Australia in Dallas in the round of 32), Iran will finish third, which should still be enough to see them into the knockouts, but only by the skin of their teeth. 68 mins: Brilliant form Marmoush to wriggle out of a tight spot on the left but his shot from the edge of the box hits an Iranian back and deflects well wide. It is now Belgium 3-0 New Zealand, which means the Europeans replace Egypt on top of the group! 66 mins: Moghanloo comes on for Ghoddos. 64 mins: Egypt probe again down the left and Attia dinks over a lovely ball to the far post that Lasheen hooks back towards the penalty spot but Iran clear. Taremi is then unfortunate to concede a free-kick when he looked like the one being fouled, but the Iranian captain is increasingly isolated up front. It’s hard to figure out what Team Melli are doing here. Are they digging deep into the numbers and presuming three points will see them into the round of 32? 62 mins: That is especially the case while Egypt are happy to retain possession and work their attacks subtly. The latest is down the left and creeps into the box where Zizo has an effort deflected wide. The corner is claimed well by the decisive Beiranvand who then launches a massive punt downfield that Egypt accept with relish. 61 mins: Now Taremi is crowded out chasing a long ball. Iran are increasingly stretched, looking to extend the playing area, but that tactic is a low percentage one with Taremi so isolated. 60 mins: Taremi wins the ball with his physicality but Ezatolahi and Ghoddos in support can’t pick up the pieces. 58 mins: Iran work the ball out nicely from their own penalty area showing great composure, only to then hump a long ball that’s easily dealt with by the Egyptian defence. Meanwhile, Salah is shown receiving ice to his left hamstring in the dugout. 56 mins: Another change for Egypt and it’s Salah who makes way for Zizo. Does that mean the living legend is carrying an injury? 55 mins: When Iran take possession Egypt are dropping right off but Team Melli still go long from the keeper looking for crumbs from Taremi’s physicality in the air. 54 mins: Egypt are controlling possession. Iran are defending in a mid block, looking to press on halfway, but the ball isn’t breaking for them at the moment. 52 mins: Trezequet thinks he has a clear sight of goal from Salah’s cutback but an Iranian defender slides in to deflect the ball behind. Salah’s corner from the left is then whipped over dangerously first time and Ibrahim and Lasheen both rise to claim it in the six yard box but get in each other’s way! It is 2-0 now to Belgium in Vancouver. The Europeans are now one goal away from topping the group. 51 mins: Taremi does well to win possession on halfway and set his side in motion but Mohebi is crowded out on the left. 49 mins: Trezeguet and Marmoush link well to drive Egypt between the lines but the cross at the end of the move is poor. Salah keeps the attack alive and his fierce ball towards Trezeguet is turned into a snapshot on the half-turn but Beiranvand is down low to meet it. 47 mins: Iran show intent from the off. Ghoddos whips in a superb cross from the right that Ezatolahi doesn’t gamble for at the far post. Play is recycled and a dart into the box is offloaded back to Ezatolahi who smashes a shot too hard and over the bar. Long distance shooting this tournament has been mostly rubbish. 46 mins: Egypt’s changes means they now have all four of their most attacking weapons on the field simultaneously. No resting on their laurels. Both teams have made changes at the break. For Egypt: Marmoush and Attia for Saber and Ashour For Iran: Hardani for Kanani While I put the various tables down and shelve the permutations for a while, enjoy this from Jonathan Wilson as the fallout from Uruguay’s disastrous ill-tempered campaign begins. It ended disgracefully with a terrible foul by Agustín Canobbio for which he was rightly sent off. Even his wild-eyed fury, though, signalled in two altercations with the referee in the minutes immediately before his inexcusable lunge on Pau Cubarsí, could not displace Fernando Muslera’s despairing glance behind him as the ball dribbled inside his right-hand post as the image of Uruguay’s World Cup. Christopher Hoffman has some more analysis of Iran’s third-place predicament. From my reading of the table if Iran gets a draw then at worst they will be the 9th best 3rd place team. If Austria-Algeria is not a draw (and Jordan don’t win by two) then Iran will be up to at least 8th There are plenty of other ways for them to make the top 8 with a draw. “Iran and Egypt taking a leaf out of the Australia v Paraguay mates rates playbook?” asks Chris Paraskevas. Absolutely not. This is full blooded attack v counterattack with four yellow cards (two for each team) and a couple more players fortunate to also not be in the referee’s notebook.