Iran plays in the World Cup on U.S. soil, comes back twice to draw against New Zealand – The Athletic – The New York Times

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Ramin Rezaeian celebrates scoring for Iran Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Iran’s World Cup opener against New Zealand on Monday was much anticipated for political reasons, but for 90 minutes here at SoFi Stadium, it was most notable as a fantastic football match.
Iran, whose preparations for the tournament have been clouded by war and travel difficulties, came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw.
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New Zealand, the third-lowest-ranked team at the tournament, was impressive. But the Iranians, spurred on by a near-sellout crowd of 70,108, played with passion and fought back in both halves.
The draw — the fourth of four at the World Cup on Monday, the first time there have been so many since the very same day of 1958 — leaves both teams level with Egypt and Belgium on one point in Group G.
Henry Bushnell, Laurie Whitwell and Jacob Whitehead analyze the key talking points…

Iran started the match in a 4-4-2 system and, if that wasn’t enough of a throwback, its second goal matched the classic feel. Iran’s attack in the 64th minute was sharp and incisive, gilding this entertaining game with a beauty that provoked pangs of nostalgia.
Ramin Rezaeian got the ball on the right wing and wasted no time crossing it into the box, where it was met perfectly by Mohammad Mohebi who guided it in off the post. It was a reminder that this game can be made to look rather simple at times, even if his initial celebration might invite more questions.
The move had started with Saman Ghoddos’ sweeping ball out to the flank from the left hand side. Rezaeian, in space, had been calling for the ball seconds earlier when it was at the feet of centre-back Ali Nemati. Saeid Ezatolahi was pointing for a switch to Rezaeian. But Nemati instead went to left-back Milad Mohammadi, prompting Rezaeian to turn in frustration. Then Ghoddos intervened and instantly faded a pass to put New Zealand on the back foot.
Still, Rezaeian was super incisive, delivering his cross from deep with such pace all it required was a glance in the right direction. Mohebi got in between centre-backs Michael Boxall and Finn Surman, who seemed a little preoccupied by Ali Alipour behind him. The value of two centre-forwards in the box, right there.
Laurie Whitwell
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No! At 85th in the world, and the lowest-ranked team entering this competition, many would have been guilty of thinking that New Zealand only earned its World Cup place by emerging from a weak Oceania Football Confederation — the continent now guaranteed a spot after the tournament’s expansion to 48 teams.
But New Zealand impressed in its final warm-up, only losing 1-0 to highly-fancied England — and when the latest FIFA rankings emerged on the opening day of the tournament, the nation had squeaked ahead of both Haiti and Curacao by moving up three places to 82nd.
Against Iran, ranked 25th in the world, they justified the algorithm’s faith in their performances. It took just seven minutes for Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood, New Zealand’s best player, to lay the ball off to Elijah Just — and the Motherwell attacker thumped his shot past Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.

Coincidentally, New Zealand’s last World Cup goal also came in the seventh minute 12 years earlier — Shane Smeltz’ penalty earning a famous 1-1 draw with reigning champions Italy.
Though Iran’s midfield began to take control of the game as the first-half wore on, Wood’s exceptional hold-up play ensured that New Zealand always possessed a platform from which to attack — whilst the team reacted well to conceding a 32nd-minute equaliser, calming the game before going ahead through Just once more.
After missing out on their first World Cup win, their best remaining opportunity looks likely to come in their next game against Egypt in Vancouver next Sunday, with Belgium in store after that.
Jacob Whitehead
New Zealand’s remoteness means any player wanting to embark on an elite career must embark on a wandering path.
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Elijah Just’s journey took him from Auckland, to the Danish Superliga, to the Austrian second-division — before pitching up at Scottish Premiership side Motherwell, aged 25, at the start of last season. It proved a significant moment.
Under manager Jens Berthel Askou, who previously coached Just at Danish club Horsens, Motherwell were transformed into the most stylish team in Scotland, with the New Zealander starring on the wing all season.
On Monday he became the first Motherwell player to score at a World Cup — and less than an hour later, he became the first ever Motherwell player to score two goals at a World Cup as well.
His second goal was the more impressive — a flowing attack in which Just made an aggressive run before exchanging passes with Wood and raising his finish over the goalkeeper and into the net.
Demonstrating a real talent for wriggling out of tight spaces, whether evading pressure or scoring his brace, Just may not remain in the Scottish Premiership for much longer.
Jacob Whitehead
It is difficult to overstate how fraught Iran’s preparations have been for this tournament, since U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country in February.
At an emergency hearing in a Los Angeles courthouse on Monday morning, a case was brought by an Iranian fan who said FIFA’s ban on showing pre-revolution flags impinged freedom of speech, but the judge rejected that argument.
It did not deter many as dozens of the lion-and-sun flags were brought into SoFi Stadium, while other supporters were spotted wearing t-shirts with Iranian pre-revolution imagery or displayed banners with similar messaging.
In one particularly pointed moment, a group of fans on the far side of the ground held up theirs in direct response to the enormous flag of the current Iran government being unfurled on the pitch opposite New Zealand’s as part of matchday protocols.
Those supporters were left unchallenged by stewards, despite FIFA winning the court hearing enabling them to lawfully prohibit people showing the flags on the grounds of them carrying a political message and potentially causing disturbances.
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In the front row behind one goal, eight fans sitting consecutively brought one banner each to spell out “MINAB168” — a reference to the killing of 168 children at an elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the conflict. The banners were confiscated by stewards.
One fan, Aiden — who had traveled with his Iranian family from the U.S. east coast, and who declined to give his last name — said he had no trouble bringing in a pre-revolution flag.
“The flag that FIFA puts is not the flag that really represents the people,” Aiden said. “It’s really a symbol of oppression, and the killing of so many people from January, and honestly the past 47 years. We want to bring our symbol of freedom and expression.”
There were also many current Islamic Republic flags in the stadium. A majority of Iranian fans seemed to be cheering for Iran’s team. But there were also a smattering of fans with pre-revolutionary flags who booed the Iranian national anthem and erupted in celebration when New Zealand scored an early goal — even if their cries for Rezaeian’s equalizer were much more pronounced.
When asked about his celebration — putting his shirt over his face — Rezaeian said it was “not political” but declined to elaborate on the meaning.
Henry Bushnell
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