What a drama in Iran! They celebrated reaching the play-offs, but the goal was disallowed
Iran and Egypt drew 1:1. The Egyptians directly advanced to the Round of 16, while the Iranians will have to hope that they can make it even with three points and from third place in the group, writes sports.ru.
Photo: Vahid Salemi / AP
And how close it was for Iran to beat Egypt!
In the 90+2nd minute, Mehdi Taremi, with the score at 1:1, earned a free kick. After the cross, the goalkeeper parried the ball in front of him, and Shaja Khalilzadeh immediately put it into the net.
Khalilzadeh, who, by the way, plays for an Iranian club from Tabriz called "Tractor", immediately ran to the corner flag, slid on his knees, and took off his shirt.
Such an action automatically results in a yellow card, but what does a yellow card matter when there's such joy? Everyone rushed to Shaja — both players on the field and the team from the substitutes' bench. Everyone raised their hands in the air.
Fans were also in ecstasy. The goal made all of Iran happy.
Khalilzadeh hugged literally every player. Coaches kissed him on the head.
The celebration lasted for more than a minute. However, simultaneously, the Egyptians approached referee Szymon Marciniak and pointed something out to him.
And soon VAR intervened — and in the 90+6th minute, the goal was disallowed due to a small offside.
Now Egypt rejoiced, while disappointment was visible on the faces of Iranian players and fans.
In the 90+7th minute, the Iranians could have turned emotions in their favor again — Saeid Ezatolahi shot from close range and hit the crossbar.
But it was still a draw — a "victorious" one for Egypt, which for the first time in history advanced from the group stage of the World Cup.
Iran's coach Amir Ghalenoei sat down in his chair after the final whistle and stared blankly at the field.
There remains a small chance that Iran will qualify for the play-offs from third place, but it is very slim.
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