Twice behind. Twice level. Iran did not get the win, but they refused to lose twice over.
Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on June 16, 2026, in their Group G opener at the World Cup. Elijah Just scored twice for New Zealand, in the 7th and 54th minutes, while Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebbi answered for Iran in the 32nd and 64th, completing a match that swapped leads twice in the second half alone.
Final score 2-2. Just opened the scoring for New Zealand in the 7th minute, Rezaeian leveled in the 32nd, Just restored the lead in the 54th, and Mohebbi equalized again in the 64th. Both sides finished close on expected goals, 1.50 for Iran to 1.24 for New Zealand, in a match where neither team ever led by more than a single goal.
New Zealand started fastest. Chris Wood held the ball up well inside the box and combined with Just, who steered a volleyed finish past Alireza Beiranvand in the 7th minute. It was an early statement from a team that had never won a World Cup match in six previous attempts.
Iran did not panic. Mehdi Taremi struck the post after a long run from his own half, and the equalizer arrived in the 32nd minute when Finn Surman’s attempted block on a Shahriyar Moghanloo effort rolled loose to Rezaeian, who continued a forward run and poked it home.
Here’s the thing neither side could hold a lead for more than twenty minutes the entire match.
New Zealand regained control just nine minutes into the second half, Just rounding off a flowing team move in the 54th minute to make it 2-1. For a moment, it looked like that might be the goal that decided the contest.
It was not.
Rezaeian, already involved in Iran’s first goal, turned creator in the 64th minute, settling a switch of play from Saman Ghoddos before whipping a cross to the unmarked Mohebbi at the back post. Mohebbi guided a header past Max Crocombe to make it 2-2, and from there, both sides traded chances without finding a way through again.
Wood headed over in stoppage time after a Jesse Randall cross, the last real chance of the match. Ehsan Hajisafi picked up a yellow card in the 89th minute for a foul that stopped a New Zealand counterattack cold.
Iran arrived at this tournament having changed training venues, lost staff to visa denials, and played through circumstances no team should have to navigate. None of that showed in how they responded twice from behind. New Zealand, still searching for their first ever World Cup win, will wonder how a two-goal cushion slipped away both times it appeared.