Bitter, tragic, unbelievable, dramatic, sad. There are probably a thousand words to describe this crazy final phase between Egypt and Iran .
A lot had already happened in the match at 1–1 before it built to an absolute dramatic climax in the final minutes. Depending on the outcome of the other group match between New Zealand and Belgium , Egypt could still have finished top of the group until shortly before the end, while Iran could still have claimed second place with a win and thus secured safe passage to the knockout stage.
We were in the third minute of stoppage time when chaos broke out in the Egyptian penalty area. The beneficiary: Iran's Shoja Khalilzadeh , who put the ball in the net and sparked wild celebrations.
He himself launched into what was probably a well-prepared celebration ritual, took off his shirt, and put on the "Thug Life" glasses known from internet memes.
They are usually used in pictures and videos in which ordinary people behave in an unexpectedly cool, rebellious, or fearless way. They are then digitally edited to wear such glasses.
This trend, which went viral in 2014, actually peaked in 2015. So it has been around for quite a while, although in theory it still would have fit perfectly for a footballer who had just fired his team into the round of 32 with a last-minute stoppage-time goal. For complete authenticity, only the cigarette was missing.
The problem: the joy, the celebration, the ecstasy — all of it came too early. The goal was checked by VAR. It turned out that Khalilzadeh was offside by the finest of margins. So no goal after all.
Cool glasses, the revival of a legendary meme, a yellow card for taking off his shirt: all for nothing.
Iran did have another huge chance afterward, but it remained a draw.
Whether third place in the group will be enough to go through is still unclear.
So Iran must keep sweating it out and will surely remember this absolutely bitter final phase — and the almost legendary celebration — for a very, very long time.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
