Egypt face Iran in Seattle on Friday night in their final Group G game, as they look to qualify for the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time ever.
As it stands, Egypt are in full control of their own destiny, having beaten New Zealand 3-1 on Monday night, to take control of the group. Egypt are the only team to have registered a win in Group G so far after two rounds of fixtures. Mo Salah was central to that win against New Zealand, with a goal and an assist, as Egypt showed fight and character, in coming back from 1-0 down to win 3-1.
Iran have played two games and drawn two so far -- against New Zealand and Belgium. The New Zealand game was one of fine margins, which could've gone either way, but Iran owe the point against Belgium largely to their goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, who made several superb saves, including a save-of-the-tournament contender off Maxim de Cuyper. Iran did have a goal ruled out for a marginal offside in that game, but Belgium nearly broke the door open so many times, only to be faced by an inspired Beiranvand.
In a Group G that is on the edge heading into the final round of fixtures, the margins are small for these teams.
Here's everything you need to know about Friday's game.
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC Two in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. PST: Friday June 26, 8 p.m.
U.S. ET: Saturday June 27, 12 a.m.
UK BST: Saturday June 27, 4 a.m.
India IST: Saturday June 27, 8:30 a.m..
Australia AEST: Saturday June 27, 1 p.m.
Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle, USA
Referee: Szymon Marciniak
Predicted Lineups
Egypt
Mostafa Shoubir
Mohamed Hany | Yasser Ibrahim | Hamdy Fathy | Ahmed Abou El Fatouh
Marawan Attia | Mohanad Lashin
Mostafa Zico | Mohamed Salah | Emam Ashour
Omar Marmoush
Iran
Alireza Beiranvand
Saleh Hardani | Hossein Kanani | Shoja Khalilzadeh | Ali Nemati | Ehsan Hajsafi
Ramin Rezaeian | Saman Ghoddos | Saeid Ezatolahi | Mohammad Mohebbi
Mehdi Taremi
Talking Points
The Salah threat looms large on Iran
In what has been an excellent tweak from Egypt manager Hossam Hassan, Mohamed Salah has played both games in this tournament in a central role, slightly withdrawn off the striker Omar Marmoush. Taking Salah off the wing and letting him roam from that no.10 position has been something of a masterstroke from Hassan. As age catches up with the Liverpool legend, he's not the phsyical specimen that he once was, and is clearly slower than he once was. In that case, isolating him out wide meant the risk of letting a game completely bypass him now.
What Salah has lost in terms of speed and power, he still more than makes up for with his passing and his football intelligence. He's a playmaker par excellent in this Egypt setup, and in the likes of Emam Ashour, Omar Marmoush and Mostafa Zico, he has willing runners to provide him with various options for his passes.
Salah is now just one goal off the all-time Egyptian goal-scoring record, currently held by his manager Hossam Hassan. If he equals or breaks it in Seattle on Friday night, then he will have likely taken his country through to the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time ever.
How can Egypt and Iran qualify for the Round of 32?
Egypt are in command of Group G at the moment, being the only team to register a win in the opening two rounds of games. Iran have drawn both their games so far, and are on two points, two behind Egypt.
A draw will be enough for Egypt to confirm qualification for the Round of 32, as that would mean they would be out of reach of both Iran and New Zealand. Egypt could even top the group with a draw, provided Belgium don't beat New Zealand by more than two goals. If Egypt win against Iran, they will be confirmed as group winners.
For Iran, the equation is pretty simple too. Win this game and they will qualify as one of the top two teams in this group. If they draw, they'll be on three points with a goal difference of 0. In that case, they will need Belgium and New Zealand to also draw, while Belgium's goals scored remains less than them, for them to finish in the top two.