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Iran v New Zealand: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
Key events
New Zealand’s national anthem rings out next and we aren’t too far away from kick-off at Los Angeles Stadium. But if you have a moment to dive deep into the difficulties the Iran team has faced in the buildup to the tournament, head here …
Iran players are lined up for the national anthem, right hand across their heart as they sing along and cheers fill Los Angeles Stadium.
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley has just explained that Matt Garbett has suffered World Cup heartbreak with a hamstring injury on the eve of the tournament. Logan Rogerson has taken his place in the squad.
It’s devastating news for Matt Garbett, he had a hamstring issue in training a couple of days ago, and when we went through all the medical stuff it turned out worse. It was a bad one …
We’ve got to rise to the occasion. We’ve to go out there and enjoy it. Give it everything and work together, work hard, work together and let’s have a great day.
Australia defender Kai Trewin was the next to benefit from the battle between social media influencers before the World Cup started, but Cabo Verde goalkeeper Vozinha did much of his own hard work with a stunning performance in the draw with Spain. From 50,000 followers before that game started, Vozinha now has more than 4.1 million people watching his Instagram account (including, it must be said, Guardian Sport).
New Zealand have enjoyed a much more settled buildup to the World Cup with the spotlight turning on to their unheralded Tim Payne rather than their participation at the tournament. The defender has become a social media sensation with more than 5.7 million followers on Instagram. Join the Tim Payne party or find out more about his newfound fame.
The Iran players and team staff have had an unusually difficult and disrupted buildup to the World Cup. Iran captain and striker Mehdi Taremi has said the controversy and disruption surrounding their involvement at the World Cup undermines Fifa’s message of peace and conceded he felt the tension before arriving in Los Angeles on the eve of their opener, hours before a peace deal was announced. For the first time since the competition’s inception, a host nation has received a country with which it is at war.
Alexander Abnos
Alexander Abnos, the Guardian’s senior sports editor in the US, has a close on the buildup in Los Angeles …
There were scattered protests outside Los Angeles Stadium, but nothing that, from my vantage points, seem to have been especially disruptive. On the west side of the stadium, the most vocal show of protest is a man with a megaphone chanting that the Iranian team represents IRGC terrorists, free Iran, and other slogans in Farsi. I understand there is a larger gathering on the east side, numbering about 200 people.
The Iranian team has enjoyed strong support from Mexicans in Tijuana since they were forced to move training base from Tucson given fears over US visa issues. That has carried over to Los Angeles Stadium – there are a huge number of fans in green Mexico jerseys here, almost all of them chanting support for Iran. In the northern end of the stadium, one group have even unfurled a medium-size banner reading “Te amamos Iran!” (We love you, Iran).
New Zealand XI
All Whites: 1 Max Crocombe (gk); 13 Liberato Cacace, 16 Finn Surman, 5 Michael Boxall, 2 Tim Payne; 6 Joe Bell, 8 Marko Stamenić; 11 Eli Just, 10 Sarpreet Singh, 20 Callum McCowatt; 9 Chris Wood (c).
Chris Wood will lead the line and the side into their third World Cup campaign. The XI is expected to settle into a more defensive 4-2-3-1 formation and rely on pace up front from Just, Singh and McCowatt. Crocombe is named goalkeeper ahead of Alex Paulsen.
Iran XI
Team Melli: 1 Alireza Beiranvand (gk); 23 Ramin Rezaeian, 19 Ali Nemati, 4 Shoja Khalilzadeh, 5 Milad Mohammadi, 6 Saeid Ezatolahi, 14 Saman Ghoddos, 17 Aria Yousefi; 9 Mehdi Taremi (c), 8 Mohammad Mohebi, 20 Shahriar Moghanloo.
Coach Amir Ghalenoei pulls no punches with an XI expected to lineup in a 4-4-2. Captain Mehdi Taremi is the focal point up front alongside Shahriar Moghanloo who has parachuted into the team.
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There have now been five matches without defeat for Asian sides at this World Cup after the draw between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay. Jonathan Wilson had already pondered even before the game in Miami whether these are early signs that the continent is a rising force in football, with Iran out to add to the evidence when they face New Zealand.
AFC teams have in the past perhaps been guilty of lacking belief against Uefa sides, but no longer. Japan celebrated the equaliser as any side that has snatched a draw should, but the disappointment when they fell behind was clear. First and second in this group play second and first in the Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti group. It’s an indication of how far both Morocco and Japan have come that it’s not at all clear that it would be easier to face them than Brazil or the Netherlands.
Saudi Arabia have held on against a flurry of late attacks from Uruguay for a 1-1 draw in the Group H game in Miami. Uruguay pressed hard but just could not find a way through the Saudi Arabia defence.
Check complete: Surely one of the most bizarre stories to emerge from this World Cup so far – Australian video assistant referee Shaun Evans has been cleared by Fifa after after he was accused of making a hand gesture associated with white supremacists. An investigation found no evidence that Evans had breached Fifa’s ethics code and he issued a statement claiming he had been unaware of making the controversial hand sign:
The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time.
Matt Hughes’s full story is here:
And there’s a grandstand finish on the cards over in Miami, where Uruguay have just equalised with 10 minutes to go in their Group H game, having laid siege to the Saudi Arabia goal.
In the other Group G game earlier today, Egypt went close to securing a first World Cup win, but were ultimately thwarted by Romelu Lukaku, who came off the bench in the 66th minute and immediately forced an equaliser. Afterwards, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia neatly summed up the veteran striker’s impact:
Frankly, when you are the opponent and you see Romelu Lukaku entering the field, your confidence goes down and your anxiety increases.
Jeff Rueter was in Seattle to watch the game unfold:
Team guide: New Zealand
By Maree Mahony
New Zealand, known as the All Whites, are back at the World Cup for just the third time, thanks to winning the Oceania region’s sole qualifying spot. Since their last World Cup in 2010 New Zealand have evolved from part-timers to professionals and there is belief they have the skillset and experience to make the knockout rounds for the first time.
It’s a tall order, though. New Zealand, at No 85 the event’s lowest-ranked qualifiers, are up against Belgium, who are ninth, Egypt, 29th, and Iran, 21st, in Group G. The renowned commentator Paul Ifill says the current squad is “miles better” than the one that went to South Africa, where they finished unbeaten with three draws. After the squad announcement the coach, Darren Bazeley, agreed the side were in a good place: “It’s a blend of exciting young talent and experienced players to maximise our chances of winning games and getting out of our group.”
…
Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood, the captain, is one of two survivors of the last campaign and much will depend on his fitness. The striker was a contender for top scorer in the Premier League in the 2024-25 season, but a serious knee injury late last year sidelined him for several months.
“New Zealand will need to be able to defend without the ball and then work out how to hurt opponents when we get the ball back. A lot will depend on whether Wood is fully fit,” Ifill says.
Get the full low down on New Zealand …
Team guide: Iran
By Behnam Jafarzadeh
Iran were one of the first teams to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup and, compared to previous campaigns, they had a relatively smooth path to the tournament. However, preparing the team for the competition has been anything but easy. Iran’s conflicts with the US and Israel threw their involvement at the World Cup into serious doubt – all three of their group games take place in the US – and Amir Ghalenoei, the manager, and his coaching staff have had to work hard to minimise disruption.
Nevertheless, in their two friendlies in March against Nigeria and Costa Rica, Iran showed that they have different plans in mind for the World Cup. In the first match against Nigeria, they lined up in a 3-6-1 formation – a setup Ghalenoei described as the team’s “defensive plan B”, likely designed for the group meeting with Belgium. In the second game against Costa Rica, Ghalenoei used a 4-4-2 formation, indicating that he intends to shift tactics depending on the opponent. The primary system remains 4-2-3-1, which Iran used in most of qualifying.
…
Despite the problems and controversies surrounding the national team, who moved their World Cup base camp from the US to Mexico just weeks before the tournament, Ghalenoei still believes his side are capable of achieving something special. “We’ve had many problems recently, but the players tried their best and made sacrifices. They worked so hard [through qualification] and sacrificed a lot, so it is my job to thank them. They can do something epic in the World Cup. They can do it, they have the technical potential to make this a World Cup to remember.”
Find out more about the Iran football team behind the headlines …
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Cup match between Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium. This is one of the most highly anticipated games of the group stage even while featuring two sides that have never reached the knockouts at the tournament.
The conflict between Iran and the US-Israel has dominated the buildup to the game – and much of the tournament – with uncertainty over whether the Asian nation would even be permitted to play matches in a country with which it is at war. That’s before getting to the many disruptions that have affected the Iran player’s and team staff’s preparations, including ongoing issues over visas and entry to the US, and being based in Tijuana, Mexico, while all three of their group stage matches are fixtures north of the border.
Turning attention to matters on the pitch, Iran are playing at their seventh World Cup. But they are still to progress past the group stage – only Scotland have been to the global tournament more times and found the first round an insurmountable hurdle. While Iran have that history, as well as modern-day chaos and challenges to overcome, they have strong form behind them after breezing through qualifying with only one defeat in 16 matches, and ramping up their final preparations with three comfortable victories.
New Zealand, on the other hand, have largely flown under the radar and arrive as the lowest-ranked team at No 85. This is just their third appearance at the tournament after making their debut and suffering three defeats in 1982. They returned in 2010 and were the only side to leave South Africa undefeated after holding reigning champions Italy to a 1-1 draw in the group stage and also sharing the points with Slovakia and Paraguay.
But that record leaves New Zealand still searching for a first World Cup triumph. Darren Bazeley’s side won all five qualifying matches – while scoring 29 goals and conceding only once – to take full advantage of the Oceania conference being guaranteed a spot at this year’s tournament. Their form has dipped more in recent times, but with Belgium and Egypt the other sides making up Group G, this looks as good a chance as any for the All Whites to claim a breakthrough victory.
Kick-off is 6pm local or PDT/9pm EDT/2am BST/11am AEST. For those counting down from the lands of the competing nations, kick-off is 4.30am IRST/1pm NZST. I’ll be back shortly with the line-ups and team news. In the meantime, get in touch with any questions, thoughts and predictions. You can shoot me an email, or find me on Bluesky @martinpegan.bsky.social. Let’s get into it!
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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