Iran and New Zealand share spoils in entertaining draw

Group G

Iran 2-2 New Zealand

Iran twice came from behind in Los Angeles as they denied New Zealand a first win at a World Cup.

Motherwell forward Elijah Just gave New Zealand a flying start as he thumped home a half-volley after Chris Wood held up the ball and knocked it into his path.

New Zealand continued to show promise but, as has already often been the case at this World Cup, the first hydration break midway through the first half proved costly as the momentum swung and Iran found a way to level when Ramin Rezaeian flicked the ball past Max Crocombe.

Before their leveller, Iran’s star forward Mehdi Taremi had come close to finding an equaliser when he struck the post with an powerful drive from outside the box. After making it 1-1, Iran also had a goal ruled out for offside.

New Zealand took a while to get going in the second half but Just popped up once more to put his side back in front as he combined with Wood again and lofted the ball over Alireza Beiranvand.

But Iran found a way to restore parity when Mohammad Mohebbi met Rezaeian’s cross and guided a header in off the inside of the post.

Every side in Group G has one point, with Belgium having drawn 1-1 with Egypt in their first match.

While officials have long said that Iran would be able to compete in the United States, it has not been until very recently that any final concerns have been laid to rest.

Even once their participation was beyond doubt, politics have dominated the build-up to Iran’s World Cup campaign.

Until this week, the host nation, the United States, had been at war with Iran.

An agreement to halt hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was only announced on Sunday.

Some members of Iran’s staff have not been granted visas for the US, while they have had to train in Mexico instead of their originally planned base in Arizona.

Once the game started, though, the focus was firmly on the football as one of Asian football’s heavyweights were an imposing presence from the off, with the attacking talent of Taremi a particular threat.

They played slick, well-drilled football in the final third and showed a constant sense of urgency as they took an attack-minded game to New Zealand.

It was far from one way though, with New Zealand racking up 14 shots to Iran’s 17 – and neither side able to find a winner.

In fact, the All Whites had the game’s most intriguing player in forward Just, whose display backed up his fine club form from 2025-26 when he scored seven and assisted eight for Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.

His link-up with Wood caused problems throughout and his two well-taken goals were reward for a performance full of creativity.

It is the type of World Cup display that attracts potential suitors, but afterwards Just was concentrating solely on his nation’s prospects.

“One goal was nice, two was not something I could ever have dreamed of,” he said. “This team is really special, but we know how tough our other opponents are.

“We have a lot of work to do.”