MUNDIAL·26

First Stage · Group G · Saturday, June 27 · Seattle Stadium, Seattle · 66,925 in the stands

kickoff 20:00 local · 16°C · 75% humidity

Egypt

5′ MAHMOUD SABER (pen)

1:1

IR Iran

14′ Ramin REZAEIAN (pen)

tap a player for their match file

Egypt4-2-3-1
IR Iran5-4-1
MOSTAFA SHOUBIR8.2MOHAMED HANY7.8RAMY RABIA7.0MOHAMED ABDELMONEIM5.4AHMED FATOUH7.0EMAM ASHOUR6.5MOSTAFA ZICO6.3MOHANAD LASHIN6.7MAHMOUD SABER7.5TREZEGUET8.0MOHAMED SALAH7.1Alireza BEIRANVAND6.6Shoja KHALILZADEH6.7Milad MOHAMMADI6.8Hossein KANANI6.2Ali NEMATI6.1Ramin REZAEIAN6.5Saeid EZATOLAHI6.7Mohammad MOHEBBI6.2Saman GHODDOS6.5Mohammad GHORBANI6.2Mehdi TAREMI6.8
from the bench

match pulse — xG per 5 minutes · goals · cards

45′90′EGYIRN

goals — hover the strip for every shot and card, with names

  • 5′Saber0.10 xG
  • 14′Rezaeian0.07 xG
EGY 0:0 IRN0'kickoff
5' Salah — xG 0.08 · Blocked5' Saber — xG 0.10 · Goal11' Taremi — xG 0.79 · Saved11' Ghoddoos — xG 0.16 · Missed14' Mohammadi — xG 0.12 · Saved14' Rezaeian — xG 0.07 · Goal17' Ziko — xG 0.04 · Missed21' Hany — xG 0.03 · Blocked30' Trezeguet — xG 0.02 · Saved34' Rezaeian — xG 0.07 · Missed39' Saber — xG 0.01 · Missed41' Trezeguet — xG 0.02 · Blocked45 + 1' Khalilzadeh — xG 0.13 · Missed46' Ezatolahi — xG 0.05 · Missed45 + 4' Saber — xG 0.02 · Missed49' Trezeguet — xG 0.07 · Saved52' Trezeguet — xG 0.08 · Blocked52' Lasheen — xG 0.14 · Missed55' Ghoddoos — xG 0.03 · Missed62' Zizo — xG 0.08 · Blocked68' Marmoush — xG 0.04 · Blocked72' Trezeguet — xG 0.07 · Missed76' Ghorbani — xG 0.04 · Blocked84' Lasheen — xG 0.03 · Missed90 + 3' Ghorbani — xG 0.13 · Blocked90 + 7' Taremi — xG 0.13 · Blocked90 + 7' Rezaeian — xG 0.09 · Blocked90 + 7' Ezatolahi — xG 0.30 · Post

▶ Watch every shot in 3D⟲ Replay the match

The xG race — cumulative expected goals, minute by minute

EGY 0:0 IRN
1.02.00′15′30′45′60′75′90′5' Saber — GOAL14' Rezaeian — GOAL0.832.11

On paper vs as played — formation sheet vs heatmap reality

EGY 4-2-3-1 attack →, ← IRN 5-4-1 attack. The teamsheet, as announced.

23MOSTAFA SHOUBIRMOSTAFA SHOUBIR3MOHAMED HANYMOHAMED HANY5RAMY RABIARAMY RABIA6MOHAMED ABDELMONEIMMOHAMED ABDELMONEIM13AHMED FATOUHAHMED FATOUH8EMAM ASHOUREMAM ASHOUR11MOSTAFA ZICOMOSTAFA ZICO17MOHANAD LASHINMOHANAD LASHIN21MAHMOUD SABERMAHMOUD SABER7TREZEGUETTREZEGUET10MOHAMED SALAHMOHAMED SALAH1Alireza BEIRANVANDAlireza BEIRANVAND4Shoja KHALILZADEHShoja KHALILZADEH5Milad MOHAMMADIMilad MOHAMMADI13Hossein KANANIHossein KANANI19Ali NEMATIAli NEMATI23Ramin REZAEIANRamin REZAEIAN6Saeid EZATOLAHISaeid EZATOLAHI8Mohammad MOHEBBIMohammad MOHEBBI14Saman GHODDOSSaman GHODDOS21Mohammad GHORBANIMohammad GHORBANI9Mehdi TAREMIMehdi TAREMI

The duel — team data, FIFA tracking included

54%
Possession
36%
0.92
Expected goals
2.24
61
Threat
39
15
Shots
13
3
On target
3
525
Passes completed
280
52
Forced turnovers
43
12.2s
Ball recovery time
16.5s
3.6
High-press phases
2.4
15
Fouls committed
10
0
Offsides
3
117 km
Distance covered
119 km
33.5 km/h
Top speed
34.0 km/h

Territory — where each team lived

Every player's heatmap, minutes-weighted and stacked per team. Egypt attack →, ← IR Iran attack. Brighter is more presence; where the colors meet is the contested ground.

How it happened

  1. 5′MAHMOUD SABER (Egypt) scores!!
  2. 11′Penalty Awarded
  3. 14′Ramin REZAEIAN (IR Iran) scores!!
  4. 14′YASSER IBRAHIM (in) comes off the bench to replace MOHAMED ABDELMONEIM (out) (Egypt)
  5. 18′Hossein KANANI (IR Iran) is booked by the referee.
  6. 19′MAHMOUD SABER (Egypt) is booked by the referee.
  7. 41′YASSER IBRAHIM (Egypt) is booked by the referee.
  8. 43′Ali NEMATI (IR Iran) is booked by the referee.
  9. ′Before the second half begins Saleh HARDANI (in) comes off the bench to replace Hossein KANANI (out) (IR Iran)
  10. ′Before the second half begins MARAWAN ATTIA (in) comes off the bench to replace MAHMOUD SABER (out) (Egypt)
  11. ′Before the second half begins OMAR MARMOUSH (in) comes off the bench to replace EMAM ASHOUR (out) (Egypt)
  12. 57′ZIZO (in) comes off the bench to replace MOHAMED SALAH (out) (Egypt)
  13. 67′Shahriyar MOGHANLOO (in) comes off the bench to replace Saman GHODDOS (out) (IR Iran)
  14. 76′HAMZA ABDELKARIM (in) comes off the bench to replace MOSTAFA ZICO (out) (Egypt)
  15. 79′Saeid EZATOLAHI (IR Iran) is booked by the referee.
  16. 90+1′Alireza JAHANBAKHSH (in) comes off the bench to replace Mohammad MOHEBBI (out) (IR Iran)
  17. 90+2′MOHANAD LASHIN (Egypt) is booked by the referee.
  18. 90+4′Shoja KHALILZADEH (IR Iran) is booked by the referee.

The morning-after column · AI-written from the match data

Two Chances, No Victory: Iran's Seattle Frustration

Egypt struck in the opening minute through early dominance and swift finishing, a shock that suggested control. Iran equalised within fourteen minutes, establishing a surface parity that statistics soon contradicted. Egypt dominated possession at fifty-four percent, forcing fifty-two turnovers with a high-press intensity three times superior to their opponents, yet Iran's subsequent attacking threat—2.24 expected goals to Egypt's paltry 0.92—hinted at a darker reality beneath the surface.

In the eleventh minute, Iran manufactured a 0.79 xG chance only for Egypt's goalkeeper to save; later, deep in stoppage time, another Iranian attacker's 0.30 xG effort struck the post. The individual brilliance of Egypt's highest-rated player at 8.2 proved crucial, but Iran owned the underlying metrics. Their slower ball recovery at 16.5 seconds versus Egypt's 12.2 meant they spent too much time defending, unable to translate attacking superiority into a second goal.

Iran produced 2.24 xG to Egypt's 0.92, created two clear chances that slipped away, and left Seattle with nothing—a masterclass in unfinished business.

90+7′

Iran's attacker struck the post in the dying moments; they couldn't find the winner.

What Egypt needed

They got the point they didn't deserve; Iran's bluntness won them a reprieve.

  • Oufa's 8.2 rating kept them standing; that single defender held against 2.24 xG bombardment.
  • Fifteen shots, 0.92 xG: finishing must improve or Group G slips away from them.
  • High-press regime (3.6 phases) forced 52 turnovers but ball recovery (12.2s) still too slow.

What IR Iran needed

Perfect attacking display, catastrophic finishing—the cruel mathematics of World Cup football.

  • The 0.79 xG save in the 11th was the moment; clinical finishing wins matches.
  • 2.24 xG to 0.92 should mean landslide; one goal from two good chances is wasteful.
  • Ball recovery time of 16.5s (Egypt's 12.2s) suggests passive defending; press higher next time.