Iran Gets ELIMINATED From FIFA World Cup But Not Without Controversy

Iran’s national soccer team is packing their bags.

On Friday, Iran needed to win their match against Egypt in order to advance to the knockout stage in the FIFA World Cup.

With the match tied 1-1 in the closing seconds, Iran appeared to score the go-ahead goal and take a 2-1 lead.

But to the shock of Iranian fans, the goal was overturned following a video review that determined an Iranian player was offsides.

Take a look:

I want PROFESSIONALS to look at Iran's second goal form these TWO angles, and tell me HOW this is offsides

I even slowed down both clips so you can see it in slow motion from the viewer angle and from the TOP.

I am asking to learn, because this one hurt a lot pic.twitter.com/bwwbs6LaCb

— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) June 27, 2026

Here was the early celebration:

Iran came to this World Cup with both the US and FIFA against them. Harassed before kickoff. Exhausted by the system. Robbed by the whistle. 2 goals taken away. 3 matches without a loss. Yet, they go home. That's not defeat — that's injustice. 🇮🇷😔 pic.twitter.com/N8OWkbNVlU

— Mohamad Al Shami محمد الشامي (@mamashami2) June 28, 2026

Fox Sports broke down why the offside’s penalty was called:

Fox Soccer has made a simple video explaining the offsides call for Team Iran.

I agree with MANY legendary football players who came out and said VAR is ruining the game. Still heartbroken over that call. https://t.co/D3D0Q9eljw pic.twitter.com/Uyi1zLgXMj

— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) June 27, 2026

AP reported more on Iran’s tough draw:

An Iranian fan rushed the field in celebration, necessitating seven security guards to successfully bring him down.

Shoja Khalilzadeh ripped his jersey off before being mobbed by the entire Iran team after he fired a shot past Egypt goalie Mostafa Shobeir in the 93rd minute to seemingly give his side a 2-1 lead on Friday night.

For a few joyous moments, Iran was convinced it had advanced to the knockout round at the World Cup for the first time in the expanded 48-team pool at this year’s tournament.

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The potential late winning goal was called back due to an offside, though, and Egypt advanced past the group stage.

After the heartbreaking draw Iran needed Austria or Algeria to win their match against each other but the game ended up a draw resulting in Iran to be knocked out of the tournament.

ESPN reported more on how Iran was knocked out of the tournament by Austria’s tie with Algeria:

Austria and Algeria played to a thrilling 3-3 draw Saturday night in what amounted to a win-win result in their World Cup group stage finale, allowing both to advance to the knockout round while eliminating Iran from the tournament.

The game was tied 2-2 in the closing minutes, and Algeria looked as if they were content to run out the clock, when captain Riyad Mahrez scored his second goal with about a minute left in stoppage time. That put Austria on the verge of elimination, only for Sasa Kalajdzic to head in the equalizing goal moments later and rescue Das Team’s World Cup hopes.

Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer also had goals for Austria, which finished second behind Argentina in Group J to advance for the first time since 1982. Their reward is a matchup with European champions Spain on Thursday in the Los Angeles area.

Rafik Belghali also scored for Algeria, who became the ninth of 10 teams from Africa to advance. They finished third in the group but get a potentially easier round-of-32 showdown with Switzerland on Thursday night in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Iran would have advanced as one of the eight best third-place teams had Austria or Algeria won. But when Kalajdzic scored in stoppage time to tie the game one last time, it meant Team Melli was eliminated in heartbreaking fashion.

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It was one last painful moment for Iran in a World Cup that has been tumultuous on and off the pitch.

Iran’s captain Mehdi Taremi had this to say about their time in the tournament:

Iran captain Mehdi Taremi blasted FIFA over what he called the "unfair" treatment of his team at the 2026 World Cup, describing it as "a disaster World Cup."

"They have to solve every problem here, but unfortunately, they couldn't solve [them] since the beginning," Taremi said,…

— Clash Report (@clashreport) June 27, 2026