Iran and New Zealand Draw 2-2 in Los Angeles World Cup Opener
Iran overcame an early deficit twice to earn a 2-2 draw against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium. The match marked Iran's first game of the 2026 World Cup after relocating its training base to Mexico.
al-monitor.comIran and New Zealand played to a 2-2 draw in their Group G match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 16, 2026. New Zealand took the lead in the seventh minute when Eli Just finished after hold-up play from captain Chris Wood. Ramin Rezaeian equalized for Iran in the 32nd minute.
Eli Just scored his second goal shortly after half-time. Mohammad Mohebbi headed Iran's second goal from a Ramin Rezaeian cross that went in off the post. Sections of the crowd booed Iran's national anthem before kick-off.
Other spectators cheered when images of the Iranian players appeared on the giant screens. Iran's national football team arrived in Los Angeles from its training base in Tijuana, Mexico. Al-Monitor reported that Iran moved training from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana after the United States initially refused visas for 15 delegation members.
Khodadad Azizi, who scored in Iran's 1998 World Cup match against the United States, said current squad members remain focused on football rather than political matters. "The team is not thinking about these matters at all; they are laser-focused on football," he said. "A player plays for his country, not for political reasons," Azizi added.
Azizi recalled that players from both teams exchanged flowers before the 1998 match and that the Iranian captain presented Iranian handicrafts to the American side. "Because it was about football, and there were political differences between the governments, the idea of a group photo was proposed, since football is a symbol of peace," Azizi said.
FIFA awarded both teams the Fair Play award after that match.
"Through this gesture in the match against the US, we wanted to show that football is above politics," Azizi said. Iran hopes to reach the knockout stage for the first time in its World Cup history. Iran's next match is against Belgium on Sunday at 8pm.
New Zealand's next match is against Egypt in the early hours of Monday morning at 2am. New Zealand lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with the following starting XI: 1 Max Crocombe (gk); 13 Liberato Cacace, 16 Finn Surman, 5 Michael Boxall, 2 Tim Payne; 6 Joe Bell, 8 Marko Stamenić; 11 Eli Just, 10 Sarpreet Singh, 20 Callum McCowatt; 9 Chris Wood (c).
