Live: All Whites v Iran - FIFA World Cup group G match
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
The All Whites face Iran in their FIFA World Cup opener at 6pm on Monday evening at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (1pm Tuesday NZ time).
This will be New Zealand’s first match at a men’s World Cup for 16 years, since they finished undefeated with three draws at the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The match will be broadcast live on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ with live updates here on Stuff.
What you need to know
The All Whites face Iran in their FIFA World Cup opener at 6pm on Monday evening at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (1pm Tuesday NZ time).
This will be New Zealand’s first match at a men’s World Cup for 16 years, since they finished undefeated with three draws at the 2010 tournament in South Africa.
The match will be broadcast live on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ with live updates here on Stuff.
Key All Whites midfielder Matt Garbett suffered a hamstring in training two days ago and is expected to miss the game.
What to expect
The All Whites are back on football’s biggest stage with two clear objectives: win a game and reach the knockout rounds.
Their opening match against Iran is their best opportunity. Though ranked 20th, Iran lack the star power of Belgium and Egypt, and their preparation was disrupted by political conflict with the host nation, their domestic league suspended in February and the team forced to move their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Mexico.
The All Whites received a reality check in the lead-up to the World Cup, thumped 4-0 by Haiti before bouncing back with a spirited 1-0 defeat to England. Failing to score in both matches highlights their biggest challenge: creating chances for star striker Chris Wood. However, they must balance attack with caution, as an opening defeat would leave them chasing the group.
What they’ve said
All Whites coach Darren Bazeley: “We’ve waited a long time to be here, to come back a World Cup. All the players are in a good space and we’re excited to get going. We’ve obviously been watching a lot of games on the television and we’re just raring to go now.”
All Whites midfielder Elijah Just: “Iran are a really tricky one. I think they’re really, really strong and have gone under the radar a little bit. Their players will be very good in one-v-one situations, but at the same time there’s been some stuff going on in their country which meant they stopped their league and spent a lot of time together. I’m sure their unity will be really good, so yeah, they’re going to be really difficult.”
Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei: “We are here to perform a good match, a high-quality match. We don't pay attention to any of the hype and anything that goes on around us. Naturally, all teams have their own problems, and in many countries, many things happen that have nothing to do with football.”
Iran striker Mehdi Taremi: “I have felt the tension from the first moment we arrived at this World Cup, and whenever at any tournament there is tension, of course, we don't have the same beautiful experience that we always talk about, about peace, joy for the people of every country.”
Squads
All Whites
GK: Max Crocombe, Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud; DF: Callan Elliot, Tim Payne; Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Nando Pijnaker, Tommy Smith, Finn Surman; Liberato Cacace, Francis de Vries; MF: Lachlan Bayliss, Joe Bell, Matt Garbett, Eli Just, Ben Old, Alex Rufer, Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenić, Ryan Thomas; FW: Kosta Barbarouses, Callum McCowatt, Jesse Randall, Ben Waine, Chris Wood.
Iran
GK: Alireza Beiranvand, Hossein Hosseini, Payam Niazmand; DF: Danial Eiri, Ehsan Hajsafi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanaani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Ramin Rezaeian; MF: Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Mehdi Ghayedi, Saman Ghoddos, Mohammad Ghorbani, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebi, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Torabi, Aria Yousefi; FW: Ali Alipour, Dennis Dargahi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Mehdi Taremi, Shahriar Moghanlou.
Players to watch
Chris Wood (All Whites): A teenage substitute during the All Whites' last World Cup appearance, Wood is now a Premier League striker and team captain. As New Zealand's biggest goal threat, much of the nation's hopes rest on him.
Mehdi Taremi (Iran): Iran’s most high-profile player, the 33-year-old Taremi has 60 international goals. After reaching the 2025 UEFA Champions League final with Inter Milan, he moved to Olympiacos, where he just delivered a double-digit goal season.
History
This will be just the third meeting between the All Whites and Iran, following a goalless draw in Auckland in 1973 and a 3-0 loss in Tehran in 2003.
Iran are appearing at a fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh overall, but have never progressed beyond the group stage.
The All Whites are back at the World Cup for the first time in 16 years and only the third time overall, still chasing their maiden tournament win.
Form
The All Whites head into the World Cup on the back of consecutive defeats, having lost their warm-up matches 4-0 to Haiti and 1-0 to England.
Iran arrive in starkly different form. They beat The Gambia 3-1 and Mali 2-0 in their World Cup tune-ups, extending their winning streak to three matches after a 5-0 rout of Costa Rica in March.