Egypt and Iran shared the spoils in a thrilling 1-1 draw at a packed Seattle Stadium on Friday, as both sides finished their Group G campaign with a point apiece before a crowd of 66,925 spectators.
The Pharaohs made a lightning-fast start, taking the lead just five minutes into the contest through Mahmoud Saber.
Mohamed Salah showed his class inside the penalty area, turning sharply past his marker before firing a shot that was partially blocked.
Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand reacted brilliantly to prevent Trezeguet from converting the rebound, but Saber was quickest to the loose ball and drilled his effort through the goalkeeper’s legs to put Egypt ahead.
Iran responded immediately and earned a penalty five minutes later after Mehdi Taremi was brought down inside the area.
The striker stepped up himself but was denied by an excellent diving save from Egypt goalkeeper Mostafa Ahmed Shobeir, who pushed the powerful effort away at full stretch.
The missed opportunity did little to slow Iran’s momentum. In the 14th minute, Milad Mohammadi tested Shobeir with a low strike that the goalkeeper parried, but Ramin Rezaeian reacted first to the rebound and squeezed an impressive finish into the top corner from a tight angle to level the score.
Egypt returned from the interval with renewed energy and nearly restored their advantage early in the second half.
Salah twice created openings for Trezeguet inside the box, but Iran’s defence stood firm. Substitute Zizo then capitalised on a poor clearance in the 62nd minute, only to see his fierce effort deflected behind for a corner.
The pressure continued moments later when a cleverly worked set-piece ended with Marwan Ateya delivering to the back post, where Lasheen knocked the ball across goal before Ali Nemati intervened to clear the danger.
Omar Marmoush came close in the 69th minute with a swerving strike that took a slight deflection and flashed narrowly wide of the far post.
Iran, however, finished the stronger side and threatened repeatedly in the closing stages.
Mohamed Hany produced a crucial headed clearance off the goal line in the 76th minute during a frantic goalmouth scramble, while Shobeir rushed from his line to punch clear as Taremi prepared for an overhead kick.
The Iranians thought they had snatched victory in stoppage time when Shoja Khalilzadeh bundled home from a set-piece situation, but a VAR review ruled the effort out for offside.
There was still time for more late drama. Rezaeian was denied by a last-ditch Egyptian block from close range before Saeid Ezatolahi’s header from the resulting corner beat the goalkeeper but crashed against the crossbar.
Despite both teams creating enough chances to claim all three points, neither could find a decisive breakthrough as the entertaining contest ended level.
