{"id":701538,"date":"2026-05-29T05:28:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T05:28:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/701538\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T05:28:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T05:28:10","slug":"nz-and-iran-in-world-cup-limbo-with-la-story-about-more-than-football-world-cup-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/701538\/","title":{"rendered":"NZ and Iran in World Cup limbo with LA story about more than football | World Cup 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

New Zealand will play their first World Cup game in 16 years with much of the planet watching what is surely the biggest event of the group stage. But little attention will be on whether New Zealand<\/a> can record their first World Cup win with Iran their opposition on 15 June. As well as all the headlines and anticipation, the global spotlight adds an extra layer to the challenge for New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley and his team.<\/p>\n

Ever since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, there has been uncertainty surrounding this World Cup<\/a> fixture in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

There were conflicting signals whether the Islamic Republic of Iran would allow the national football team to travel to the home of its attacker, and whether the US would welcome Team Melli. With kick-off now weeks away, it appears the game will go ahead as planned. Still, there is the possibility of protests by the large local Iranian population in \u201cTehrangeles\u201d, many of whom fled the 1979 revolution, and acts of defiance by players<\/a>. It\u2019s more than a football story.<\/p>\n

New Zealand, who also face Egypt and Belgium in their group, are very much the supporting cast in this drama. It is an unusual situation for any team to be in but that has been the case for the past three months with Bazeley never quite sure who the opposition would be for New Zealand\u2019s biggest game since 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we\u2019re still continuing as though we\u2019re playing Iran<\/a>,\u201d Bazeley said in March. \u201cThey\u2019re the team that qualified and we got drawn against them. That\u2019s still the fixture and until we get told otherwise, we\u2019ll \u200ccontinue \u2060with that preparation. Obviously, if things change, then we\u2019ll deal with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran football team ramps up preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a training session in Antalya. Photograph: Oner San\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Nothing has changed yet despite Iran\u2019s request that the game be switched<\/a> to a different country, leading to the prospect of New Zealand having to play in Mexico before heading to Vancouver for their final two group games. Fifa did not agree to that but have given the go ahead for Iran to switch their training camp<\/a> from Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana.<\/p>\n

So, as it stands, it is Iran in LA. If that question is almost answered, then it now remains to be seen what kind of mental and physical condition Iran is in. There has been no domestic league action<\/a> since the war in Iran started. Team Melli played two games in March behind closed doors \u2013 a 2-1 loss to Nigeria and then a 5-0 victory over Costa Rica. The players sang the national anthem with varying degrees of enthusiasm. There is little doubt that they are under considerable pressure.<\/p>\n

Iran football players prepare for the 2026 World Cup with a training session in Antalya. Photograph: Anadolu\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Amid all this uncertainty, the All Whites (official nickname of the New Zealand team) have a game to prepare for but their World Cup opener may not be as difficult as some think, according to Jahanyar Mohebbi, former assistant at Persian Gulf Pro League team Foolad FC.<\/p>\n

\u201cCoach Amir Ghalenoei and his [Iran] staff will not change a lot, there will not be surprises,\u201d Mohebbi, now with Chinese champions Shanghai Port, told the Guardian. \u201cIran are not an easy nation to play against \u2026 Iranian players are absolutely physical, always play direct. New Zealand will face a team that will be set in a low block and will try to get behind you on the counterattack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mohebbi has seen how Uzbekistan, who have developed quite a rivalry with Iran on the pitch in recent years, have learned to deal with the threat. In the last six meetings, Team Melli have failed to defeat the central Asians. \u201cLook at how Uzbekistan play against Iran and deal with the long balls and set pieces,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will be similar.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are other issues for Iran. Many of the players haven\u2019t played a competitive game for months. \u201cNew Zealand have players in Europe at a high level and if they can put Iran under pressure, if there is intensity and pressing, the Iranian team can struggle,\u201d said Mohebbi.<\/p>\n

And then there is the politics. Sardar Azmoun was left out of the squad<\/a> after posting social media messages that did not go down well in Tehran. Other members of the team have reportedly been pushing for the inclusion of the former Roma and Bayer Leverkusen striker but as things stand, Azmoun remains on the outer. It all adds to the chaos. \u201cThere are a lot of things going on that are not under the control of the coaching staff,\u201d said Mohebbi.<\/p>\n

New Zealand will share the pitch and some of the global spotlight in Los Angeles in what should be an unforgettable occasion no matter the final score.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"New Zealand will play their first World Cup game in 16 years with much of the planet watching…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":701539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-701538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=701538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/701538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/701539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=701538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=701538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=701538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}