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WHO: Iran vs New Zealand
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G games
That: Los Angeles Stadium, California, US
When: Monday, 6pm local time (01:00 GMT Tuesday)
How to follow: Continue with all updates Al Jazeera Sport
Iran will finally take to the field for their World Cup opener on Monday later Uncertain months around participating in the Games and following the United States-Israeli invasion of their country that began at the end of February.
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They will face New Zealand against tensions in the Middle East and in the California region, home to a large Iranian diaspora, adding to the competitive atmosphere between the two nations who have never met at a World Cup.
The All Whites are back on the biggest stage in international competition for the first time since 2010 and are looking for their first World Cup victory.
Iran’s stability has been disrupted
Iran is playing in the World Cup while the country is at war with a host country, which is the first time in the tournament’s 96-year history.
Preparations for the World Cup team are underway thrown into confusion and all their games are scheduled to be played in the US.
Iran’s participation in the tournament was questionable due to the war. They also moved their camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, leaving them to travel internationally back to the US for their three team games.
Reports of progress in negotiations The cease-fire move did little to resolve the conflict between the teams, with Iran’s football authorities criticizing FIFA as 11 members of Iran’s national football association were denied visas to attend the tournament.
The Iranian team must also arrive in the US on the day of their match and leave the country within 24 hours, according to multiple reports about the team’s movements.
The incident in Los Angeles was evident on Friday during the opening ceremony at the Los Angeles Stadium, where cheers could be heard as the Iranian flag was carried onto the field.
Iran will learn on Monday what kind of reception awaits them when they arrive to play, even if Los Angeles is their home state. a large number of Iranians outside of Iran.
Iran is trying to exercise
While most of the attention has been on Iran’s chaotic preparations for the World Cup, Team Melli has been collecting good results ahead of the tournament.
They have won their last three matches and were in good shape for the World Cup qualifiers, becoming the third team to qualify for the tournament in March 2025.
Iran is making its fourth consecutive World Cup appearance and seventh. They have won the group stage in the last two tournaments, beating Morocco 1-0 in 2018 and beating Wales 2-0 in Qatar in 2022 with two goals to spare. However, the progress of the knock-on phase has not yet taken place.
But with a good team that will join them with New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, Iran will be confident of reaching the round of 32.
New Zealand will be chasing their first World Cup victory
The All Whites are making their third finals appearance and are looking for their first World Cup win.
Manager Darren Bazeley’s side will be hoping to recall their last appearance in 2010, when they were eliminated from the group but left South Africa unbeaten after games against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay.
New Zealand’s hopes may rest on captain Chris Wood, the country’s best player, who underlined his importance with back-to-back hat-tricks against Samoa and Fiji.
They will need to be at their best if New Zealand are to have any chance of progressing to the 32. They are the lowest ranked team in the tournament and suffered successive defeats to Haiti and England in their warm-up games in the US.
Head to head
This is the third meeting between New Zealand and Iran and the first time the teams have met in the competition.
He last played in October 2003 as Iran won 3-0 in a friendly in Tehran, Ali Karimi scoring twice in the first half.
Before that, they met for the first time in August 1973 when they drew 0-0 in a friendly in Auckland.
Monday’s match will be the first meeting of the World Cup between the teams and the first time that the teams will face opposition from other countries in the competition.
Control form:
(Last five games, most recent first)
Iran: WWWLD
new Zealand: LLLD
Iran are the underdogs going into the tournament, having won their last three friendlies against Mali, Gambia and Costa Rica.
New Zealand, meanwhile, is in trouble. They have not won a match since June 2025, when they beat Ivory Coast 1-0 in a friendly.
Where can you watch Iran vs New Zealand?
Iran fans can watch their opening match on IRIB TV3, with the game kicking off at 4:30am local time on Tuesday morning.
This is a better time for New Zealand players, the game is scheduled to start at 1pm local time. TVNZ will broadcast the game.
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch on the BBC, while those in the United States can tune in on Fox.
News about Iran and New Zealand team
Iran midfielders Dennis Eckert, Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Mehdi Torabi are all doubtful to play due to injuries, but midfielders Roozbeh Cheshmi and Mehdi Torabi are expected to be ready to play after recovery.
New Zealand’s Ryan Thomas is expected to feature in the match after missing the All White warm-up through injury.
The Talisman Wood striker is fit to play after an injury-plagued season. The New Zealander missed almost half the year with a knee injury.
Iran predicted from XI:
Alireza Beiranvand (goalkeeper); Milad Mohammadi, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Ali Nemati, Aria Yousefi; Saeid Ezatolahi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Mohebi; Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Taremi, Mehdi Ghayedi
New Zealand’s predicted starting XI:
Maxime Teremoana Crocombe (goalkeeper); Liberato Cacace, Michael Boxall, Finn Surman, Tim Payne; Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic; Elijah Just, Sarpreet Singh, Matthew Garbett; Chris Wood
