SEATTLE — The emotions were still raw for Iran players and their coach long after the final whistle of the team’s 1-1 draw against Egypt in their group-stage finale at Seattle Stadium on Friday night.
Seeking to advance out of the group stage for the first time in their World Cup history, Iran were left to wait out the results of Saturday’s matches following a third-place finish in Group G. It appeared “The Melli” had solidified their place in the round of 32 with a stoppage-time score, only to have a VAR review disallow Shojae Khalilzadeh’s goal by a marginal offside call.
It continued a turbulent World Cup experience for Iran, who moved their training camp base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, Mexico due to the ongoing war in the Middle East. They also have faced logistical issues traveling back and forth to the United States for their three group matches.
Iran are in strong position to claim one of the eight third-place spots in the round of 32, but coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team has been treated “very unfairly” while urging FIFA president Gianni Infantino to “stand up” to the co-host United States.
“It was the host that wasn’t very good to us,” Ghalenoei said after Friday’s match. “I urge FIFA to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future. I hope Mr. Infantino will actually stand up to such behavior.”
Friday’s match took place against the backdrop of Seattle’s annual PrideFest, with the city’s host committee unofficially declaring June 26 the “Pride Match” before December’s draw pitted Egypt against Iran. Although no official Pride activations were seen at FIFA’s fan festival or inside the stadium, several rainbow flags were seen mixed within the predominantly Muslim crowd.
Outside the stadium, hundreds of supporters of Reza Pahlavi, a prominent dissident of the Islamic republic, took to the streets in a gathering. It made for a palpably charged — albeit peaceful — environment in the two hours leading up to the critical match.
Once the match kicked off, Iran quickly fell behind on a fifth-minute goal by Egypt. However, Iran equalized nine minutes later. The score remained tied through the second-half hydration break, after which Iran made a furious attempt to find the go-ahead score.
They appeared to have it when Khalilzadeh found the back of the net following a hectic sequence in front of Egypt’s goal. Then the “VAR Challenge” message appeared on the scoreboard, and a few minutes later the goal was disallowed.
Iran would maintain the pressure, sending another shot off the crossbar before the final whistle.
After the match, team captain Mehdi Taremi called it a “disaster World Cup.” Not for how Iran has performed, but for how he believes the team has been treated.
Taremi pointed out that some of Iran’s logistics people do not have visas to travel with the team, while also noting the lack of Iranian media. And it is true that while Egyptian media members were very vocal supporters in the press box throughout the match, there was no notable presence of Iranian media.
Denied permission to remain in the United States overnight for the third consecutive match, Iran were scheduled to land in Tijuana in the early hours Saturday morning. It’s the latest in a series of actions that Ghalenoei said “deprived” his team of the opportunity to properly train and recover mentally and physically from the rigors of World Cup matches.
“To my players and the team, I want to say to them I’m proud of them,” Ghalenoei said. “What these young people, these players have done, it should be written in history because the host country treated us very unfairly.
“Their behavior towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that. Despite all of these problems, we’ve been able to perform well and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I think that’s our greatest achievement despite all the obstacles and the hurdles they put in our way.”
As they did following their second group match in Los Angeles, Iran left a handwritten note in their dressing room. They thanked Seattle for its hospitality, thanked Iranians for “their hearts, their voices,” and mentioned football being a “test of character.”
And then it was off to the airport for the return flight to Tijuana.
