Is Iran the unluckiest team in World Cup history?

Every World Championship is full of moments of glory, but also sad stories. Iran suffered one of the most cruel defeats that could happen at this level of competition. Amir Ghalenoei's players had a chance to advance to the top 32, but their dreams were thwarted twice in the last moments. Iran finished the group stage unbeaten, but still failed to advance to the next round due to goal difference. After draws with New Zealand and Belgium, the victory over Egypt in Seattle was crucial for promotion. Although they were initially losing, they equalized thanks to Ramin Rezaeian's goal. In added time, Shoja Khalilzadeh scored a goal that could have allowed Iran to advance. Unfortunately, after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed due to minimal offside.  Iran's drama deepened on the last day of the group stage. In Algeria's match against Austria, a win for either team was to Iran's advantage. The match was heading to a 2-2 draw, which eliminated Iran, but Riyad Mahrez's goal in the 93rd minute gave hope to the Iranians. Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived as Sasa Kalajdzic scored an equalizer for Austria in the last seconds. Iran has faced not only sporting challenges, but also political obstacles. Conflict with the US and Israel meant their training base had to be moved to Tijuana, Mexico, and the team was forced to travel on match days due to visa restrictions. Coach Ghalenoei described his team as the "most oppressed" at the tournament and appealed to FIFA to treat all teams equally in the future. --- ## Related Articles 1. [World Cup 2026](https://banthangvn.com/vi/news/tho-nhi-ky-bi-loai-khoi-world-cup-calhanoglu-au-on-chung-toi-a-lam-tan-vo-trai-tim-cua-moi-nguoi) 2. [Stunt ng Cape Verde sa World Cup: "Parang nasa ibang mundo ako..."](https://azkalsgoal.com/fil/news/stunt-ng-cape-verde-sa-world-cup-parang-nasa-ibang-mundo-ako)