Austria and Algeria played out a thrilling 3-3 draw on Saturday night, an unbeaten result in the World Cup group stage final, allowing both sides to advance to the knockout stages, knocking Iran out of the tournament.
The game finished 2-2 in the final minutes and Algeria seemed content to let time run out when captain Riyad Mahrez scored his second about a minute before the end of stoppage time. This put Austria on the brink of elimination, but moments later Sasa Kalajdzic headed in the equalizing goal to save Das Teamโs World Cup hopes.
Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer also set goals for Austria, which finished second behind Argentina in Group J and advanced for the first time since 1982. Their reward will be a match against European champions Spain on Thursday in the Los Angeles area.
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Rafik Belghali also scored for Algeria, who became the ninth of 10 African teams to take the lead. They finished third in the group but face a potentially easier Round of 16 showdown with Switzerland on Thursday night in Vancouver, British Columbia.
If Austria or Algeria had won, Iran would have qualified as one of the top eight third-placed teams. But when Kalajdzic scored in stoppage time to equalize late, it meant Melliโs side were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion.
It was the latest painful moment for Iran in a World Cup that was turbulent both on and off the field.
The Iranians are playing as Tehran negotiates with Washington over the terms of a deal to permanently end the war that began earlier this year.
During the World Cup, Iranian coach Amir Galenoi and players complained of numerous complications, including travel restrictions, denial of visas for support staff and rapid departures from the United States after matches.
Austria celebrates Sasa Kalajdzicโs late equalizing goal against Algeria. Kyle Rivas โ FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
U.S. officials said all restrictions were known before the tournament.
In March, Iran tried to move group stage matches to Mexico, with which it has diplomatic relations. Her request to move base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana was granted two weeks before the team arrived.
After Iran was eliminated from the tournament on Saturday night, the team sent a statement expressing its โsincere gratitude to the wonderful people of Mexico, especially the beautiful city of Tijuana.โ
โLeaving Tijuana is truly difficult for all of us,โ the statement said.
For the first three World Cup games at Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs was awash in the blue of Argentina, the yellow of Ecuador and the orange of the Netherlands. But in the group final in Kansas City, the Algerian green and Austrian red were complemented by thousands of locals just happy to get a less expensive ticket to the World Cup.
Many of these locals seemed to root for Algeria, setting up their training base in nearby Lawrence, Kansas, and developing a unique friendship with the small college town that is home to the University of Kansas.
Few new Les Fennecs fans are likely to know about The Shame of Gijon.
However, long-time Algerian fans have been waiting 44 years for a rematch at the World Cup. At the 1982 tournament, Austria and West Germany apparently abandoned play after the latter took a 1-0 lead, as the result ensured that both countries would advance at the expense of Algeria, who had unsuccessfully protested to FIFA and were eliminated from the World Cup.
Some were curious whether expanding the 48-team field would result in โKansas City embarrassmentโ, since both teams knew from the start that a tie would lead them to the exit. Instead, the crowd of 69,045 was treated to a dramatic 90-plus minutes.
Austria struck first when Arnautovic timed it perfectly between two Algerian centre-backs, found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Oussama Benbot and overcame a stumble to score his record 49th career goal for his country.
Algeria responded just before the break when Belgali easily beat Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager with his left foot.
The frantic pace continued into the second half on a hot night in Kansas City.
Not content with a 1-1 draw, Austrian Konrad Laimer made a sharp cross-field pass which Sabitzer completed to reclaim the lead โ and give Iran some hope โ only for Algeria to respond minutes later when Mahrez tapped in Houssem Aouarโs perfect cross.
Algeria took control throughout the course, playing from distance as the crowd began to get nervous. But just when both teams seemed happy to end the game, Mahrez and Kalajdzic provided them with prolonged fireworks in stoppage time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.