Why VAR had Iran's supposed winning goal whistled offside, putting them in danger of being eliminated from the World Cup while Egypt progresses

Egypt will play Australia in the knockout stages of the World Cup on July 3 after securing second place in Group G with a dramatic 1-1 draw against Iran. The first half started excitingly when Mahmoud Saber fired a shot in the 5th minute that went through the legs of Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand and into the goal. Iran reacted quickly and won a penalty four minutes later. Mehdi Taremi stepped up but saw his shot parried before Ramin Rezaeian equalized in the 15th minute. He reacted quickest to the rebound of a shot from Milad Mohammadi and sank the ball from a tight angle.

With Belgium leading 2-0 against New Zealand at the time, this game was extremely exciting. A third goal for Belgium — scored by Kevin De Bruyne — dropped Egypt to second place and moved Belgium to the top of the group. Therefore, it was important for Hossam Hassan's team to take the lead again. New Zealand were able to reduce the gap against Belgium, which lifted Egypt back into first place, but Romelu Lukaku restored the old gap and the game ended 5-1 for Rudi Garcia's team.

There was great drama in stoppage time when Iran thought Shoja Khalilzadeh had secured them victory, but VAR stubbornly ruled it out for offside. Iran had two more great chances, but Egypt held on to the point — and thus a place in the knockout rounds.



The 1-1 draw means Iran takes third place. However, whether they will advance as one of the best third-place teams is still up in the air. They have to hope for the results of the final group games on Saturday. If Algeria draws against Austria and DR Congo wins against Uzbekistan and Croatia gets at least a draw against Ghana, the Iranians would be out.

A VAR decision that called off Iran's supposed winning goal had enormous significance. The player must be in an offside position at the time of shooting the ball, and VAR analysis showed that Khalilzadeh was actually in front of the only Egyptian defender, leading to the decision. Emotions ran high in Seattle, particularly for Egypt, when Mohamed Salah was substituted injured in the 57th minute.

The tension remained high until the final stages, when Iran once again risked everything to score the winning goal. Khalilzadeh's stoppage-time "goal" was met with jubilation before VAR intervened and the joy turned to sadness. Egypt is now ready to play Australia, while Iran awaits the results of the other games and fears whether they will progress.