Newsletters
Iran rallied from behind on two occasions to earn a 2-2 draw against New Zealand in its opening Group G match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday.
The result left Iran atop the group and New Zealand in second place after the opening round of matches, following Belgium's 1-1 draw with Egypt earlier in the day. A crowd of 70,108 watched the teams share the points.
New Zealand took the lead in the seventh minute when Elijah Just finished from close range after a move involving Chris Wood.
Iran came close to equalizing in the 22nd minute, but Mehdi Taremi struck the post from outside the penalty area. Iran leveled the score in the 32nd minute when a deflected ball fell to Ramin Rezaeian, who scored from inside the area.
New Zealand moved back in front in the 54th minute as Just combined with Wood before finishing for his second goal of the match. Iran equalized again 10 minutes later when Rezaeian crossed from the right and Mohammed Mohebbi headed in from close range.
No further goals were scored as the teams settled for a 2-2 draw.
After the match, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei criticized U.S.-related travel arrangements at the tournament, saying his team had been instructed to return to Mexico immediately following the game.
Iran arrived at the tournament amid diplomatic tensions between the United States and Iran. According to tournament officials, some members of Iran's support staff were unable to obtain U.S. visas.
The team had originally planned to base its training camp in Tucson, Arizona, but moved operations to Tijuana, Mexico, because of visa and logistical issues.
"They delayed our arrivals, they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery," Ghalenoei told reporters. He said the team had expected to remain in the United States until Tuesday afternoon and had not been given an explanation for the change.
"They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we're not going to let that stop us from doing our best," he said.
Forward Mehdi Taremi also expressed frustration after the match.
"It's a lot of stress for the players and staff and everyone, but we don't have that support, and I think FIFA have to help us more than this," Taremi told reporters. "Everything is like disaster, actually, for us."
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
2 min read
1 min read
