That’s the end of our live blog, with Iran and New Zealand sharing points in a 2-2 draw in Group G of the 2026 World Cup. See you next time!

The referee blows the final whistle. Iran and New Zealand share the points in a thrilling 2-2 draw for their World Cup debuts. Elijah Just scored a brace for the All Whites, while Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi provided the goals for Iran.

In what could’ve been Iran’s winning goal, Ryan Thomas makes a last-minute clearance to save New Zealand.

Heading the ball in the box unmarked, Wood was unable to score the winning goal for New Zealand.

Marko Stamenic and Sarpreet Singh leave the field, with Tiler Bindon and Jesse Randall entering in their place.

Five minutes of stoppage time have been added.

With Just leading the counterattack, Hajisafi tackled him down, earning the first yellow card of the game.

With New Zealand’s defense sitting deep and compact, Shojae Khalilzadeh finds space to unleash a strike from distance. The shot lacks power, allowing Max Crocombe to make an easy save.

Shojae Khalilzadeh goes down after a collision, catching Chris Wood’s shoulder with his head. After lying on the turf for a brief moment, the defender recovers and is cleared to continue.

Discomforted by the decision, Mehdi Taremi is replaced by Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh.

Tim Payne leaves the field, with Callan Elliot entering in his place.

Cooling break is over, and players are back on the field to resume the game.

Referee Ramos calls for the second cooling break of the game, with players heading to the sideline once again.

Liberato Cacace and Callum McCowatt leave the field, with Benjamin Old and Ryan Thomas entering in their place.

Ehsan Hajsafi enters the field replacing Saman Ghoddos.

Saman Ghoddos picks out Ramin Rezaeian with a long ball. Rezaeian brings it down and sends an accurate cross from the right flank toward the penalty spot, where Mohammad Mohebi heads it home to level the match.

Chris Wood chests down a high ball perfectly into the path of Sarpreet Singh. Singh strikes a volley inside the box, but it lacks the power to trouble Alireza Beiranvand, who collects it cleanly.

Though it was later disallowed, Crocombe pulled off two great saves to avoid Iran leveling the score once again.

Liberato Cacace wins the ball back to spark a lethal counterattack. Elijah Just and Chris Wood execute a brilliant one-two on the break, allowing Just to drive into the box and slot it home.

Forward Shahriar Moghanlou leaves the field, with Ali Alipour taking his place.

In the starting minutes of the second half, Iran is pressing high on New Zealand, controlling both the chances and the ball so far.

Referee Ramos blows the whistle, and the second half is underway!

The second half begins with a tactical change for Iran. Aria Yousefi leaves the pitch and is replaced by Mehdi Ghayedi.

Iran and New Zealand are drawing 1-1 after the first 45 minutes at Los Angeles Stadium, with Elijah Just and Ramin Rezaeian writing their names in the scoreline.

Saeid Ezatolahi connects with a header and sends the ball into the back of the net, but the linesman’s flag goes up immediately. The goal is ruled out for a clear offside.

With a long throw-in from Yousefi, Taremi connects the ball on the box, but his shot went just wide.

Following a foul on Liberato Cacace, Chris Wood takes charge of the free kick from a dangerous position. His effort goes directly into the hands of Alireza Beiranvand for a routine save.

Six minutes of stoppage time have been added.

Saeid Ezatolahi goes down after a heavy head-to-head collision with a New Zealand player. Play is immediately halted for a potential head injury, and medical staff are on the pitch assessing him.

After a constant back-and-forth, New Zealand slows down the game controlling the possession of the ball.

A cross from Ramin Rezaeian flies into the box where Moghanlou battles the defense. Rezaeian ghosted into the danger zone and buries the loose ball to level the score just before halftime.

New Zealand replied with left back Cacace, who with a narrow shot forced Beiranvand to invervene with a save.

After narrowly avoiding a penalty, Max Crocombe misplays a pass directly to Saman Ghoddos. The Iranian midfielder pounces on the turnover and fires a quick shot, but it flashes just wide of the post.

The players return to the pitch following the cooling break, and the referee restarts play to close out the first half.

Referee Ramos calls for the first cooling break of the game, with players heading to the sideline.

Iran catches New Zealand on a rapid counterattack. Mehdi Taremi finds space on the break and unleashes a powerful shot from distance, but it rattles off Max Crocombe’s left post.

Marko Stamenic threads a great pass to Sarpreet Singh, who finds space to let fly from distance. Alireza Beiranvand is forced into a critical diving save to deny the long-range effort.

Iran appealed for a penalty after Shahriyar Moghanlou goes down following a challenge from Finn Surman. The forward received medical attention on the pitch and is forced to sit out for a minute before re-entering.

Another pinpoint long ball finds Chris Wood to orchestrate the attack. Sarpreet Singh picks it up, driving into the box off the dribble, but slices his shot well wide of the target.

Captain Chris Wood sparks a brilliant team sequence, beautifully holding up the ball before dropping a dime to Elijah Just inside the 18-yard box. Just makes no mistake on the All Whites’ very first opportunity of the game, burying it to give the underdogs an early lead.

Yousefi brings down a great long ball and cuts inside to let it fly. It lacks power, though, making for a routine save and easy collection for Crocombe.

Referee Cesar Arturo Ramos blows the whistle, and game between Iran and New Zealand is underway!

Mexican official Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos has been appointed to referee Monday’s World Cup clash between Iran and New Zealand. While he has never overseen a match featuring the All Whites, he is a familiar face for Team Melli, having previously officiated Iran’s 2-0 victory over Oman in the Round of 16 at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

With today’s assignment, Ramos ties Marco Antonio Rodríguez as the Mexican referee to work the most World Cup tournament editions in history. This marks his third World Cup appearance after officiating matches in both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, where his tournament crown jewel was refereeing the high-stakes semifinal clash between France and Morocco four years ago.

Match officials:

Referee: Cesar Ramos
1st Assistant: Alberto Morin
2nd Assistant: Marco Bisguerra
Fourth Official: Yusuke Araki
Fifth Official: Jun Mihara
VAR: Erick Miranda
AVAR: Fedayi San
SVAR: Bastian Dankert

Belgium and Egypt already kicked off the Group G action earlier on Monday, with the two nations splitting the points in a thrilling 1-1 draw. Midfielder Emam Ashour struck for the Pharaohs, while a Mohamed Hany own goal ultimately leveled the playing field.

With both heavyweight teams sitting tied atop the standings with a single point each, a victory for either Iran or New Zealand would catapult them into sole possession of first place in Group G. Furthermore, with the tournament’s expanded format allowing the best third-place teams to advance, walking away with three points tonight would almost put one foot firmly in the knockout stage.

Monday’s group-stage opener marks the first time these two nations will cross paths at a World Cup. While their limited history means they are largely unfamiliar foes, Iran and New Zealand have battled on different stages before, even if their head-to-head catalog remains brief.

The two sides have met just twice previously, with Team Melli holding the historic edge with an unbeaten one win and one draw record. Their initial clash dates back to a scoreless friendly draw in 1973, but their only competitive meeting came in 2003 during the now-defunct AFC-OFC Challenge Cup, where Iran asserted its dominance with a commanding 3-0 victory in Tehran.

Coach Amir Ghalenoei has revealed the lineup to look for the three points against New Zealand (4-4-2): Alireza Beiranvand; Ramin Rezaeian, Ali Nemati, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi; Aria Yousefi, Saman Ghoddos, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mohammad Mohebi; Shahriar Moghanlou, Mehdi Taremi.

Head coach Darren Bazeley has picked the eleven players to look for New Zealand’s first World Cup win in history (4-2-3-1): Max Crocombe; Tim Payne, Finn Surman, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace; Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic; Callum McCowatt, Sarpreet Singh, Eli Just; Chris Wood.

The New Zealand Football Federation announced today that forward Matthew Garbett has been ruled out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after suffering a hamstring injury. The Peterborough United FC attacker represents a massive loss for the All Whites just hours before their group-stage opener against Iran.

In the wake of the devastating injury update, New Zealand’s squad temporarily dropped to 25 players ahead of kickoff. However, Auckland FC forward Logan Rogerson has been called up as the injury replacement and is currently traveling to join the national team, restoring the All Whites to a full 26-man tournament roster.

The game between Iran and New Zealand will kick off at 9 PM (ET).

You can watch the 2026 FIFA World Cup live on Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling, Peacock Premium, FS1, Telemundo, and Hulu + Live TV.

Welcome to our live blog for the Matchday 1 Group E clash between Iran and New Zealand at the Los Angeles Stadium. Stay with us for key updates and live minute-by-minute coverage!