Iran open their World Cup campaign as they take on New Zealand in Los Angeles. Behemoths of the Asian game, Iran breezed through Asian qualification losing only of their 16 AFC preliminaries (and that was vs Qatar, after qualification was secured already). They’ve not been able to translate that continental domination to the World Cup level… and will be desperate to do just that on US soil.
On the other side, New Zealand enjoyed an even breezier time in qualification via Oceania, but as the lowest ranked team in the tournament are decidedly underdogs in the group, and this game. But this also means, they can come out swinging. That aggression saw them beat Chile 4-1, and that will likely be their template against the bigger sides in their group. Can they set the tone in their opener vs Iran?
Here’s everything you need to know about the match:
The match will be available on BBC One in the UK, Fox in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Monday, June 15, 9.00 p.m.
UK BST: Tuesday, June 16, 2.00 a.m.
India IST: Tuesday, June 16, 6.30 pm
Australia AEST: Tuesday, June 16, 11.00 am
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Referee: César Arturo Ramos (Mexico)
Iran
Alireza Beiranvand
Arya Yousefi | Ali Nemati | Saeid Ezatolahi | Hossein Kanani
Mohammad Mohebi | Ehsan Hajisafi
Ali Gholizadeh | Mehdi Taremi | Saman Ghoddos
Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh
New Zealand
Max Crocombe
Tim Payne | Finn Surman | Michael Boxall | Liberato Cacace
Joe Bell | Sarpreet Singh | Marko Stamenic
Elijah Just | Chris Wood | Matthew Garbett
Iran have been in the headlines throughout the build-up to the World Cup, and entirely for off field reasons due to a conflict with the US that continues. Their participation at the tournament was in danger, and even now, they’ve had to set up base camp in Mexico, flying in and out of the US to play their group stage games.
With all this going on, can the Asian giants focus fully when they get on the pitch? For Iran, there’s no doubt.
“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,” head coach Amir Ghalenoei told FIFA.com last month. “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.”
“Iran has a special talent whereby in tough times we find or create solutions. We managed to get to this level in spite of a difficult situation.
“My goal is for there to be no war anywhere in the world so people can enjoy football and enjoy their lives. This is my message through football to the world and my people.”
Wood didn’t play much of last season for Nottingham Forest with injury issues; but the season before that was an exhibition in just how good a centre-forward he can be when he’s on his A-game.
New Zealand’s most capped player, and all-time top scorer, the 34-year-old Wood remains key to all their plans. Behind him, a solid defence (as shown again recently against England, who they limited to a 1-0 score) provides the platform for Darren Bazeley’s men.
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