The final group-stage match between Iran and Egypt ended in a draw, narrowing South Korea's path to the round of 32.
Iran drew 1-1 with Egypt on Wednesday (Korea time) in their third Group G match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Seattle Stadium in Washington state, U.S.
Egypt took the lead in the fifth minute when Mahmoud Saber scored the opening goal.
Iran won a penalty kick in the 11th minute, but Mehdi Taremi's shot was saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir. Ramin Rezaeian then equalized in the 14th minute to level the score.
Iran's late go-ahead goal by Shoja Khalilzadeh was disallowed for offside following a video assistant referee (VAR) review.
With the draw, Egypt finished with one win and two draws (5 points), advancing to the round of 32 as the group runner-up. Iran ended the tournament third in the group with three draws (3 points). In another match held at the same time, Belgium routed New Zealand 5-1 to join the round of 32 as group winners.
South Korea slipped to eighth place — the cutoff for advancing to the round of 32 — among the third-place teams. Six third-place nations currently rank above South Korea: Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Paraguay, Senegal and Iran. Croatia, third in Group L with only two matches played, also ranks above South Korea.
The round of 32 features the 24 teams that finish first or second in their groups, plus the top eight among the third-place teams. Whether South Korea advances will depend on the results of the final Group J, K and L matches on the 28th. South Korea can secure a spot only if competitors such as Algeria, Croatia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo finish lower in points or goal difference.
Meanwhile, data analytics firm Opta lowered South Korea's chances of advancing to the round of 32 to 31.51%.
