Rezaeian rocket earns Iran a point, knockout fate now a waiting game

Rezaeian's rocket and a disallowed winner, Iran 1–1 Egypt

Ramin Rezaeian scored from an angle that should not have worked. Egypt 1–0 up after five minutes through Mahmoud Saber, and Iran looked in trouble (4) (11). Then Rezaeian fired one in from near the byline in the 14th minute. Kicker called it an "impossible" angle (11). 1–1.

But the story was Khalilzadeh. Deep in stoppage time, his goal went in, and for a moment Iran had it won. Offside. The flag went up and the points stayed shared (5). "How good is this sport?!" Jacqui Oatley said (3).

Iran must wait

Two points from two games. The 0–0 with Belgium and this 1–1 with Egypt leave your team third in Group G (4). Belgium topped the group. Egypt went through in second (12) (16).

Now Iran are in the best third-placed team lottery. South Korea are in the same boat (6). Some outlets say Iran look safe for the knockout stage (7). Others say it is a nervous wait (8) (9). Nothing is settled yet.

Squad context

Amir Ghalenoei's side have frustrated two strong opponents. Egypt could not break Iran down after the equaliser. Belgium could not score at all. The defensive structure is holding. The counter-attacking formula works. But the wait continues.

Fan reactions

The r/soccer threads lit up after Rezaeian's goal. Fans could not believe the angle he struck it from, and Mostafa Shoubeir's penalty save on Mehdi Taremi in the 12th minute had people calling it the turning point. The mood swung hard, from that early Egypt goal to Rezaeian's equaliser, then to the Khalilzadeh offside heartbreak. See the goal thread here.