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Who: Egypt vs Iran
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match
Where: Seattle Stadium, Seattle
When: Friday, 8pm local time (03:00 GMT on Saturday)
How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 23:30 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt will look to confirm their spot in the World Cup knockouts for the first time in 92 years when the North African giants face Iran in a geopolitically charged fixture in Seattle on Friday night.
Buoyed by their 3-1 win over New Zealand – Egypt’s first at a World Cup – the record seven-time African champions can reach the round of 32 should they beat Iran, while a draw may also be enough, depending on other results.
Iran – who recorded back-to-back draws despite dealing with an unprecedented World Cup geopolitical situation whereby the tournament co-host, the United States, went to war against their nation, which later led to group match travel restrictions – are also well within reach of advancing to the knockouts for the first time.
Al Jazeera tells you everything you need to know about Egypt vs Iran:
Despite their dominance on the continental level, Egypt have never quite stepped up at the world stage. But come Friday, things could change.
The Pharaohs are on the brink of reaching the World Cup knockouts for the first time, 92 years on from their tournament debut in 1934. In the words of their beloved forward, Mohamed Salah, the qualification would be “the greatest achievement” in the Arab nation’s history.
For millions of Egyptians, the match with Iran offers more than one reason to rejoice, with Salah also closing in on a personal record. Nicknamed the “Egyptian King”, Salah is only one goal short of becoming Egypt’s joint top scorer, matching the tally of 69 by Hossam Hassan.
Interestingly, former striker Hassan, who played for Egypt between 1985 and 2006, is now the head coach of the World Cup team.
“We do not put everything on one star or two stars and just bet that they will bring it for us,” Hassan said, trying to ease the pressure on his 34-year-old forward.
Furthermore, he added that Salah’s central position has given him more freedom, with the ex-Liverpool player netting one goal and two assists so far.
“I think it’s a new version of Mo Salah at the moment. He plays in a new position – he plays very freely in a very creative way,” the coach explained.
Throughout World Cup 2026, Iran has grappled with severe travel restrictions imposed by their tournament matchday host, the United States, who alongside Israel, launched a war on the Middle East nation on February 28. The restrictions have affected the player’s match preparations as well as post-match rest and recovery, according to the team.
For their opening two games against New Zealand and Belgium, Iran were allowed to travel to their playing venues in the US only within 24 hours of their fixtures and had to return to their training base in Tijuana, Mexico, directly after each match.
US authorities have eased travel restrictions ahead of the match against Egypt, though Iran’s football federation said on Wednesday that officials had “caused problems” when the side travelled from their Mexican base for Friday’s contest.
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei told reporters on Thursday that the restrictions had “physically affected us” in previous games, but that Iran are now “fitter and also we are in a better position”.
“We are going to be positive. We are not going to think about any other issues … we seek to bring joy to our people,” Ghalenoei said, while also refusing to be drawn on the Pride celebrations surrounding the game.
Iran are aiming to reach the World Cup knockouts in their eighth attempt.
Opta’s supercomputer has calculated a 44.1 percent probability of Egypt winning this fixture, while Iran is assessed a 24.6 percent chance of victory. There is a 31.3 percent probability of the game ending in a draw.
Overall, Egypt are favourites to finish on top of Group G, with a whopping 62.51 percent probability, according to Opta.
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listing schedule here.
Group G is wide open, with all four teams in the race for the knockouts.
After two games, Egypt leads the group with four points, while Iran is second on two points, Belgium is third on the same tally, and New Zealand is last with a single point.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will proceed to the round of 32.
Yes. Egypt will seal top spot if they defeat Iran, while a draw will also be enough if Belgium fail to beat New Zealand by a margin of three or more goals.
Iran also has a chance of grabbing first place, which they can pull off if they beat Egypt and Belgium fail to defeat New Zealand. If Iran win the group, they could potentially face the USA in the round of 16.
(Last five games, latest first)
Egypt: W-D-L-W-D
Iran: D-D-W-W-W
Iran’s record is superior to Egypt in the last five games.
Iran held Belgium to a goalless draw in their last match and drew with New Zealand in the World Cup opener. Before that, they beat Mali and The Gambia in pre-World Cup friendlies and thrashed Costa Rica in a March friendly.
Egypt registered their first-ever World Cup win by beating New Zealand in the second group game, while they drew with Belgium in their tournament opener. They lost to Brazil and beat Russia in pre-World Cup friendlies and held Spain to a draw in a March friendly.
Egypt duo Hamdi Fathy (hamstring) and Hossam Abdelmaguid (head) are doubtful with injuries.
Iran has not reported any player injuries in the lead-up to the final matchday.
(4-2-3-1): Shobeir (goalkeeper); Hany, Ibrahim, Rabia, El Fotouh; Ateya, Lasheen; Ziko, Salah, Ashour; Marmoush
(5-4-1): Beiranvand (goalkeeper); Rezaeian, Kanaani, Nemati, Khalilzadeh, Safi; Jahanbakhsh, Ghoddos, Ezatolahi, Mohebi; Taremi
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