Two words from Polish referee Szymon Marciniak, and the hearts of an entire nation broke. Moments before, Shojae Khalilzadeh had fired into the roof of the net from the edge of the six-yard box, whipped off his shirt and slid on his knees to the touchline. Someone handed him a pair of sunglasses. A member of Iran’s backroom staff collapsed flat on the turf. Another leaned in and kissed Khalilzadeh on the forehead. The bench had emptied. Seven World Cups. Never through. Until now, they thought.
Offside. Goal ruled out. Yasser Ibrahim then made a monumental block to deny Rezaeian’s shot after the ball squirted free. Iran had not won a single corner of the match until the 88th minute, and now, six minutes and 53 seconds into stoppage time, Saeid Ezatolahi sent a header against the crossbar. The game was more than 100 minutes old when Marciniak finally called time. Iran’s head coach Amir Ghalenoei slumped in his dugout and did not move for more than fifteen minutes.
Three draws from three games. Seven World Cups, still no knockout stage. Not yet, anyway.
None of this should have been straightforward to reach. Iran came into this tournament under conditions no other team at these finals has faced. US and Israeli strikes on the country months before meant their participation was uncertain for weeks. FIFA denied their request to move games to Mexico. They trained in Tijuana, were permitted to enter the United States only on matchdays, and flew back the same night after every game. Their federation president and press officers were not allowed into the country at all.
The fixture carried its own additional weight: a Pride Match designation from Seattle’s local organising committee, objected to formally by both federations, and a stadium where some Iranian fans booed their own national anthem and waved the pre-revolutionary lion-and-sun flag FIFA had banned. Ghalenoei, before kick-off, said his team were going to bring joy to their people. All four teams had gone into the night with a route through: Egypt top, Iran second, Belgium third, New Zealand fourth.