Is Iran the unluckiest team at the World Cup?

Group G of the World Cup: Egypt and Iran are tied; Belgium thrashes and eliminates New Zealand
Sadness is something expected in a World Cup.
Behind every moment of glory, there is a story of bad luck - a nation lamenting its luck and injustices that led to its downfall.
Still, few situations compare to the cruelty that Iran faced in this World Cup.
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Facing unprecedented challenges even before the ball rolls, the team led by coach Amir Ghalenoei came very close to a place in the knockout stage - only to see it slip away at the last moment... not once, but twice.
Despite being unbeaten in the group stage, Iran missed out on a place in the knockout stages because of goal difference.
But the story of their elimination was even worse...
Iran's injury-saving goal in stoppage time is disallowed
After draws against New Zealand and Belgium, Iran knew that a victory over Egypt in Seattle would guarantee qualification for the knockout stage.
Iran started losing early, but reacted well. And although striker Mehdi Taremi missed a penalty, Ramin Rezaeian tied the game with a precise shot from almost no angle.
The match remained tied until second-half stoppage time, when Iranian Shoja Khalilzadeh scored a goal after a scramble in the box.
The goal was widely celebrated, with Khalilzadeh taking off his shirt - for which he received a yellow card - and posing for a photo with sunglasses.
⚽ However, The joy soon turned to anguish when the goal was disallowed for offside. The offside was just right - with Khalilzadeh's toe just in front of Egypt's second-to-last defender.
The match ended 1-1, meaning Iran would have to wait for the outcome of other games to find out whether they would advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time.
Iran lost their place in the World Cup knockout stage to Senegal on goal difference.
GETTY IMAGES via BBC
Goal in the 51st minute of the second half eliminates Iran
Iran had to wait until the final group games to find out their fate.
Algeria against Austria was the decisive clash - and a victory for either team would favor Iran.
A thrilling game looked set to end 2-2, eliminating Iran, until Riyad Mahrez charged towards goal to put Algeria ahead in the 48th minute time.
With just a few moments remaining, Iran was once again very close to the spot.
But the drama didn't end there. In a last attack, Austria managed to equalize with a header from Sasa Kalajdzic, just a few seconds from the end.
For the second time in 24 hours, Iran's joy was taken away at the last moment.
Senegal's superior goal difference guaranteed the Africans the last place among the third placed. Cape Verde, who like Iran had drawn all three group stage games, progressed in second place in Group H.
'The host country treated us very unfairly'
The fact that Iran came so close to qualifying is remarkable in itself, considering the unique obstacles it had to overcome.
Iran played in the World Cup amid the context of the country's conflict with the USA and Israel.
The team's training base for the World Cup was transferred from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, before the start of the tournament, and the team faced travel restrictions throughout the competition.
Iran were only allowed into the US the day before their first two games and had to leave again on the same day of the match under the terms of their visas.
Later, Ghalenoei described his team as the "most oppressed" in the tournament.
He said the squad was "deprived" of preparation time and had "less than half" of the training window. necessary training, while other teams enjoyed normal conditions.
These travel restrictions were relaxed for the game in Seattle, allowing the team to arrive two days early, but had to return to Tijuana after the match.
After the game, Ghalenoei expressed his frustration again: "To my players and the team, I want to say that I am proud of them."
"What these young people, these players did should be recorded in history, because the host country treated us very unfair."
"Despite all these problems, we managed to perform well and the world is proud of the Iranians and our team."
"Appeal to FIFA: don't let hosts treat players and teams the same way in the next World Cups."

Source: G1