The opening match of Group G at the 2026 World Cup between Iran and New Zealand will take place at 6:00 p.m. local time (01:00 GMT Tuesday) at Los Angeles Stadium in California, USA. This is the first time the two teams have met at a World Cup.
Iran enters the tournament amid turmoil, as the country has been in conflict with the United States and Israel since late February. The team relocated its training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, and is only permitted to enter the US on match day, with a 24-hour departure requirement. Eleven members of the Iranian Football Federation were denied US entry visas. At the opening ceremony, the Iranian flag was booed when it appeared on the field.
New Zealand returns to the World Cup for the first time since 2010 and is seeking its first-ever World Cup victory. Coach Darren Bazeley's team pins high hopes on captain Chris Wood, New Zealand's all-time leading scorer, who netted consecutive hat-tricks in qualifying matches.
Iran has good form with three recent consecutive wins over Mali, Gambia, and Costa Rica, while New Zealand has not won any match since June 2025. The Kiwis lost back-to-back friendlies against Haiti and England recently.
On the squad front, Iran may be without Dennis Eckert, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, and Mehdi Torabi due to injury, but Roozbeh Cheshmi and Mehdi Torabi are expected to be available. For New Zealand, Ryan Thomas will be absent, but Chris Wood has recovered from a knee injury.
Expected Iran lineup: Alireza Beiranvand; Milad Mohammadi, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Ali Nemati, Aria Yousefi; Saeid Ezatolahi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Mohebi; Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Taremi, Mehdi Ghayedi.
Expected New Zealand lineup: Maxime Teremoana Crocombe; Liberato Cacace, Michael Boxall, Finn Surman, Tim Payne; Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic; Elijah Just, Sarpreet Singh, Matthew Garbett; Chris Wood.
