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Iran left another lengthy handwritten note in their dressing room after their draw against Egypt at the 2026 World Cup.
Iran drew their opening two matches of the World Cup against New Zealand and Belgium. They went into their final group game with Egypt at Seattle Stadium knowing a victory would see them progress to the last 32, while a draw would give them a chance of qualifying as one of the eight best-performing third-placed sides.
Team Melli didn't get off to the best of starts as they fell behind after just five minutes when Mahmoud Saber found the back of the net. Iran hit back quickly, though, restoring parity nine minutes later through Ramin Rezaeian.
Iran thought they had won the game in the dying embers when Shoja Khalilzadeh fired home, but their goal was ruled out due to the tightest of offside calls. The final whistle blew shortly after as they game ended in a 1-1 draw.
They will now have to wait and see whether they have done enough to qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition.
Iran Leave Note in Dressing Room After Draw vs Egypt
Iran left a 74-word handwritten note in their dressing room after their match against Belgium last week. They left another note in their dressing room after the match against Egypt.
The Telegraph journalist James Decker took a picture of the note and published it on social media. It read: "We come from Iran... From a land that, for thousands of years, has placed honour above victory.
"For us, football is not only a competition for results, it is a test of character.
"Perhaps points can be won in many ways, but respect cannot. Perhaps a team can advance from a group, but only through fairness and honour can one stand tall before history.
"Fair play is not just a line in football's rules. It is the soul of the game."
Alongside their comments about fair play, they also wrote the names of six countries yet to play their final group game: Austria, Algeria, Ghana, DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Croatia. The results of those three matches will determine whether Iran advances as one of the best-performing third-placed sides or not.
Their note concluded: "Thank you Seattle for your hospitality and thank you to all Iranians who gave their hearts, their voices. And their whole being for Iran. Iran, always standing tall."
Iran's Head Coach Praises His Side
Iran's head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, praised his side for what they were able to do despite all the hardships they have been made to endure.
He said after their draw against Egypt, per the Guardian: “To my players and the team, I want to say to them I’m proud of them, what these young people, these players have done, it should be written in history because the host country treated us very unfairly.
“Had the host country allowed us to arrive two weeks earlier, we would have been more prepared. They were reasonable, rational demands. We would have been able to recover and be in better shape physically and mentally however they deprived us of that justice.
“When you play in a match, physically, scientifically, our bodies are at a low and when you suddenly go on a flight, that actually postpones your recovery and this is the third time they are doing this to us, we have to leave from here to the airport and we have to return to Tijuana and it will take us some three hours.
“Their behaviour towards us has been really terrible and we hope the world will be aware of that. They didn’t let us come two weeks earlier and two days earlier before every game. This has really hurt us. And we had a war as well. Despite all of these problems, we’ve been able to perform well and the world is proud of Iranians and our team. I think that’s our greatest achievement despite all the obstacles and the hurdles they put in our way.”
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