Egypt and Iran drew 1-1 in their final Group G match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on June 26 at Lumen Field in Seattle, with kickoff at 8 p.m. local time [1, 2, 3, 4].
Mohamed Salah captained Egypt and came within one goal of becoming Egypt's all-time international top scorer. Egypt made four starting changes, including benching Omar Marmoush and adding Hamdi Fathi. Iran made two changes, led and captained by Mehdi Taremi [1, 5, 3].
The match was intense, with Iran mounting a late offensive push. A late Iranian goal was disallowed by VAR for offside, and earlier Egypt had saved a penalty in the first half [4].
Egypt’s draw earned them 5 points in Group G, putting them top of the group and securing progression out of the group stage for the first time in 92 years. Iran, on 3 points, remain in contention to qualify as a best third-placed team depending on other results [2, 4, 6].
Mohamed Salah is now Egypt’s all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with three goals across the tournament. He has one goal and two assists so far in 2026. Egypt had taken 33 shots in their first two games, including a 3-1 win over New Zealand on June 22, their first-ever World Cup victory [3, 6].
Outside Lumen Field, protests erupted involving Palestinian and Iranian opposition flags, with confrontations between supporters and opponents of the Iranian government [4].
Daniel Salib, an Egyptian figure, said, “The feeling is outstanding. After this game, and the game we played against New Zealand, and how we played against Belgium, we absolutely deserve it. So, I couldn’t be more proud of this country and this team.” Iranian supporter Saeed Nassef added, “The Iranian team did a beautiful job. They faced a lot of hardship, but we’re really happy how they played. We’re here to support the team… We want some happiness.” Salah called advancing "a great achievement for all the players… one of the best achievements in our history" [4, 6].
Egypt will continue in the tournament beyond the group stage for the first time since 1934. Iran’s fate depends on results from other Group G matches, including Belgium and New Zealand’s game.
