Iran had a goal ruled out for offside and hit the crossbar in the final seconds of a 1-1 draw against Egypt in Seattle, leaving their hopes of reaching the World Cup last 32 in the balance.
Shoja Khalilzadeh turned home after a goalmouth scramble but his effort was disallowed following a lengthy video assistant referee check, while Saeid Ezatolahi headed against the woodwork in the seventh minute of added time.
Wild celebrations had followed Khalilzadeh putting the ball in the net, with the defender removing his shirt – for which he was later booked – and posing for a photograph with a pair of sunglasses.
His, and Iran’s, joy was short-lived, though.
Iran, who have drawn all three of their group matches, remain in with a chance of reaching the World Cup knockout phase for the first time ever as a best third-placed qualifier.
Their hopes now rest on the outcomes of Groups J, K and L, while Egypt finished second in Group G.
Results in other groups earlier in the day had already confirmed Egypt’s progression to the last 32 before kick-off, although it was possible for them to finish first, second or third in the group.
Belgium went through as group winners, courtesy of their victory against New Zealand.
In an eventful start, Egypt took the lead in the fifth minute when Mahmoud Saber shot through a crowd of players to open the scoring.
Iran produced a fine response and although Mehdi Taremi’s penalty was saved by Mostafa Shobeir, they found an equaliser shortly afterwards when Ramin Rezaeian smashed in a rebound from a tight angle.
Captain Mohamed Salah, needing one more goal to equal his head coach Hossam Hassan’s all-time scoring record for Egypt, was substituted after 57 minutes.
Before the dramatic finale, Taremi had headed against the bar from a corner in the closing stages, although the referee blew for a foul so it may not have counted had he found the net.
