Iran vs New Zealand

16 Jun · 02:00 SoFi Stadium · FIFA World Cup

Iran

02:00

2 - 2

New Zealand

R. Rezaeian   32' M. Mohebbi   64'

E. Just   7', 54'

1. Full Time
2. 90 + 2'
   T. Bindon on for M. Stamenić
3. 90 + 2'
   J. Randall on for S. Singh
4. E. Hajisafi
   89'
5. A. Hosseinzadeh on for M. Taremi
   80'
6. 78'
   C. Elliot on for T. Payne
7. 68'
   B. Old on for L. Cacace
8. 68'
   R. Thomas on for C. McCowatt
9. E. Hajisafi on for S. Ghoddos
   65'
10. M. Mohebbi
    64'
11. 54'
    E. Just
12. A. Alipour on for S. Moghanloo
    53'
13. M. Ghayedi on for A. Yousefi
    46'
14. Half Time
15. R. Rezaeian
    32'
16. 7'
    E. Just
17. Kick Off

2

Goals

2

17

Shots

14

4

Shots On Target

8

4

Corners Won

1

1

Yellow Cards

0

0

Red Cards

0

48.5%

Possession

51.5%

2.19

xG

2.04

Match Momentum is not available yet.

Goals

• 1
  
  Elijah Just
  2
• 2
  
  Ramin Rezaeian
  1
• 3
  
  Mohammad Mohebbi
  1

Shots

• 1
  
  Chris Wood
  4
• 2
  
  Sarpreet Singh
  3
• 3
  
  Shahriyar Moghanloo
  3

Tackles Won

• 1
  
  Saman Ghoddos
  2
• 2
  
  Milad Mohammadi
  2
• 3
  
  Ramin Rezaeian
  1

Assists

• 1
  
  Chris Wood
  2
• 2
  
  Ramin Rezaeian
  1

Chances Created

• 1
  
  Chris Wood
  4
• 2
  
  Ramin Rezaeian
  3
• 3
  
  Ali Nemati
  2

Passes Completed

• 1
  
  Finn Surman
  51
• 2
  
  Michael Boxall
  50
• 3
  
  Ali Nemati
  50

Take Ons Completed

• 1
  
  Sarpreet Singh
  2
• 2
  
  Callum McCowatt
  2
• 3
  
  Ramin Rezaeian
  1

Interceptions

• 1
  
  Saman Ghoddos
  3
• 2
  
  Finn Surman
  3
• 3
  
  Saeid Ezatolahi
  3

01

Beiranvand

05

Mohammadi

19

Nemati

04

Khalilzadeh

23

Rezaeian

17

Yousefi

06

Ezatolahi

14

Ghoddos

08

Mohebbi

09

Taremi

20

Moghanloo

09

Wood

11 2

Just

10

Singh

20

McCowatt

08

Stamenic

06

Bell

13

Cacace

05

Boxall

16

Surman

02

Payne

01

Crocombe

Substitutes

25 Danial Eiri 

13 Hossein Kanani 

16 Mehdi Torabi 

18 Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh 

24 Dennis Dargahi 

22 Hossein Hosseini 

26 Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia 

03 Ehsan Hajisafi 

07 Alireza Jahanbakhsh 

02 Saleh Hardani 

12 Payam Niazmand 

21 Mohammad Ghorbani 

15 Roozbeh Cheshmi 

11 Ali Alipour 

10 Mehdi Ghayedi 

Substitutes

 Michael Woud 22

 Ryan Thomas 23

 Lachlan Bayliss 25

 Tommy Smith 26

 Francis de Vries 03

 Kosta Barbarouses 17

 Alex Paulsen 12

 Tyler Bindon 04

 Alex Rufer 14

 Nando Pijnaker 15

 Jesse Randall 21

 Ben Waine 18

 Ben Old 19

 Callan Elliot 24

League Standings table is not available yet.

Iran and New Zealand played out an exciting 2-2 draw in their World Cup 2026 opening game.

Both nations will be considered outsiders in Group G having been drawn alongside Belgium and Egypt, who are favourites to make it to the knockout stages. But this could have been an important result for Iran and New Zealand, with third still presenting a good chance of qualification.

New Zealand got off to a perfect start with Elijah Just opening the scoring in the seventh minute, an expert finish after excellent play from Chris Wood in the buildup. Iran equalised just after the half-hour mark, though, with Ramin Rezaeian reacting quickest to a loose ball in the ball. It was exactly what Iran deserved after putting pressure on their opponents. Iran thought they had gone ahead before half-time, but Ali Nemati’s header from a free-kick was ruled out for offside.

The All Blacks retook the lead within 10 minutes of the restart, again through Just. It came through another one-two with Wood, with Just finishing coolly. New Zealand’s lead only lasted 10 minutes, this time, before Mohammad Mohebi headed in the equaliser. While there would be no winner, it was a thrilling game with 31 shots shared between the two sides. It kept things level in Group G too, after Egypt and Belgium played out a 1-1 draw in their game. New Zealand lead the early table on fair play points, with Iran second.