ESPN honors Iran’s World Cup elimination as ‘remarkable’ despite zero wins in three matches
Find someone who loves you like ESPN loves Iran.
Iran had a pretty mediocre World Cup and were eliminated from the tournament on Saturday in quite a disappointment.
Wanting to honor Iran, ESPN published a post about the team’s debut.
Iran’s apparent second goal sparked celebrations before video review erased the crucial World Cup breakthrough against Egypt. (Matt McNulty – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
To them, failing to advance past the knockout stage meant an “exceptional” tournament run.
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Of course, ESPN.
“Iran has been eliminated from the World Cup after an outstanding tournament run,” said ESPN FC on Saturday, crowning a team that had failed to win a single match as champions.
Not everyone shared ESPN’s views.
One fan wrote: “Might be an extraordinary situation. They didn’t win any games and didn’t progress in a format where 32 out of 48 advanced. They weren’t terrible by any means, but they weren’t great either.”
“I played football (not football), baseball and basketball[ball] in my life. I would have had the same results there and they won too (0 wins),” read another reaction.
The Iranian side certainly did not see the situation this way.
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Captain Mehdi Taremi described the tournament as a “disaster”, while head coach Amir Ghalenoei argued that his squad was “the most pressured team in the entire World Cup” due to the travel and logistical problems it faced.
In the statement made by Iran’s official team after the heartbreaking exit, “Respect cannot be earned without fair play.”
No matches won. Three grueling draws against Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt left Iran unbeaten but brutally eliminated.
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Iran’s dream second goal was dashed as VAR crushed celebrations in a dramatic World Cup clash with Egypt. (Photo: Matt McNulty – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) ((Photo: Matt McNulty – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images))
An Iran fan proudly waves his flag during the Egypt-IR Iran 2026 World Cup match. (Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Iran thought they had found a late winner before VAR ruled for offside on Friday and the match ended in a 1-1 draw with Egypt, coinciding with Seattle’s Pride match and a day full of World Cup events.
Fox News Digital/OutKick’s participation in the match attracted reactions from all walks of life.
On Saturday, a late equalizer elsewhere in the group mathematically dashed Iran’s hopes and ultimately sent the team home after an unremarkable World Cup run.
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