A game of inches: 4 conclusions from the dizzying draw between Iran and Egypt

For about 20 seconds in Seattle, Iran had won its World Cup. Shoja Khalilzadeh scored the winning goal in added time, the bench was already in the middle of the field and the Melli team had made the pass. Then the VAR drew its lines and the celebration was erased by the width of a sleeve. Final score: Egypt 1, Iran 1.

Mahmoud Saber put Egypt ahead within five minutes, Ramin Rezaeian equalized from an angle that shouldn’t have existed, and the rest of the night was for the goal that didn’t count.

Here are my takeaways from Egypt’s 1-1 draw with Iran:

1. The call that almost made the entire group change

Sit with the math for a second, because it’s brutal. Khalilzadeh’s disallowed goal was not just a three-pointer. Had it stood, Iran would have beaten Egypt 2-1, leapfrogged them into second place head-to-head and advanced to the round of 32 as group runners-up. Egypt? Until the third.

Instead, the flag was raised, the score remained level, and the dominoes fell in opposite directions. At the same time, Belgium took advantage of being the big favorite and beat New Zealand 5-1, taking first place on goal difference. Egypt was runner-up. Iran must wait for the third-place lottery.

An offside penalty, three nations reorganized. We say tournaments change by an inch. Tonight in Seattle, it was the smallest measurement.

2. Salah’s redemption tour came to an end

If we go back seven months, Mohamed Salah had overstayed his welcome at Liverpool. On the bench, fighting with Arne Slot, according to himself thrown under the bus, an exit confirmed in the summer after nine memorable years at Anfield. Top scorer in the league in May, unused substitute in December.

Now look at it. Hossam Hassan dragged Salah from the wing into a central number 10 role, hid the half meter of pace that Father Time regained and let the brain do the running. I didn’t even need to dial here. Egypt rested their captain in the 57th minute with a historic first World Cup qualifying berth all but sealed.

And think about the man who didn’t make the XI: Omar Marmoush. Manchester City’s brilliant Egyptian striker fell after a flat group stage, Trezeguet preferred. Egypt advanced by trusting the old playmaker over the new toy.

3. Iranian players thrived amid challenges

Forget about the table for a second and watch the obstacle course. A group dragged along the West Coast and the US-Mexico border, visa delays, a migraine-like travel schedule and press conferences filled with non-football questions. So Iran came out and refused to lose. Three ties. Unbeaten against Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt. They fought these obstacles and momentum to a standstill, and were one step away from winning a game they had no reason to need to win late.

Here’s the cruel part: Being undefeated still may not be enough. Iran is in third place with three points, waiting for other groups to decide their fate.

For everything they had to go through to get here, “wait and see” is a measly thank you note. Still standing counts for something after everything the players and staff have endured.

4. The VAR call that Iran will see while sleeping

This is the era of freeze frame arbitrage. An injury-time winner, a stadium roaring, and then come the digital lines to rule that a shoulder, a sleeve, some splinter of Khalilzadeh’s had strayed a hair too soon.

Based on visual examination, it appeared level. And it is the second time that this same punch has come to Iran in a tournament, after Mehdi Taremi’s magnificent free kick against Belgium was also disallowed for an offside at shoulder height.

At some point, sympathy becomes a real question: How confident are we in lines drawn to the millimeter on a running body? Technology still has human eyes behind it. What Iran keeps getting is a man in a booth deciding their World Cup by a margin that would need a microscope to argue, with the benefit of the doubt landing somewhere other than their half. Twice.