By Opta Analyst | Created at 2026-06-14 09:09:50 | Updated at 2026-06-15 12:42:42
1 day ago
We look ahead to Tuesday’s Group G clash in Los Angeles with our Iran vs New Zealand prediction and preview. Can the All Whites claim their first ever win at the FIFA World Cup?
Iran vs New Zealand: The Key Insights
- Only Scotland (8) have made more World Cup appearances without making it past the first round than Iran (6), but they are Opta’s favourites for victory here, given a 53.8% chance of victory.
- Only Honduras (9) and Egypt (7) have played more World Cup matches than New Zealand (6) without ever recording a win.
- Iran’s last eight goals at the finals have all been scored in the second half, including five in stoppage time.
New Zealand will be targeting their first ever victory at the FIFA World Cup when they take on Iran in their Group G clash at Los Angeles Stadium.
It is 16 years since the All Whites were the only unbeaten side at the finals in South Africa. Ricki Herbert’s side claimed a point in all three of their group games, including a 1-1 draw with reigning champions Italy, but could not avoid a first-round exit.
New Zealand, who debuted at the World Cup in 1982, have failed to win any of their six matches at the finals (D3 L3); only Honduras (9) and Egypt (7) have played more times without ever recording a victory.
Breaking that duck will be the main objective for Darren Bazeley’s side who, with the OFC confederation guaranteed a place at the 2026 tournament, took full advantage by winning all five qualifying matches, scoring 29 goals along the way and only conceding once.
Coincidentally, New Zealand only qualified a day later than Iran way back in March 2025, with only Japan booking their ticket to North America sooner than these two nations. Yet they do not arrive at the finals brimming with confidence, having won just one of their last 11 games (L8).
The All Whites need inspiration and will hope their talisman Chris Wood – the only member of the 2010 squad also at the 2026 tournament – has put an injury-hit season behind him to lead their attack. His country’s all-time leading marksman and appearance maker, he top-scored in the OFC qualifying section with nine goals in five games. Now at the age of 34, the Nottingham Forest forward will be desperate to grasp his opportunity to shine on the biggest stage of all.
Goals have generally been a problem for Iran across their six previous World Cup appearances. Among teams to have played in 15 or more games at the finals, they have scored the fewest per game (0.72), while only Bulgaria (11.5%) boast a lower win rate than them (16.7%).
Indeed, Iran have only won three of their 18 matches at the World Cup, albeit two of them were fairly significant. They beat the United States 2-1 at the 1998 finals and, four years ago in Qatar, effectively spelt the end for Gareth Bale’s Wales with a 2-0 victory.
Iran will likely need at least one win this year if they are to stand any chance of progressing beyond the group stage at the seventh attempt. Only Scotland (8) have made more appearances at the finals without ever making it past the first round.
Head coach Amir Ghalenoei will hope his side can provide something for their nation to cheer about in the midst of the ongoing Iran War, which has threatened their participation in North America.
Iran made fairly light work of qualifying, losing just one of their 16 matches, while pipping Uzbekistan to top spot in both their second and third-round groups.
Mehdi Taremi played a starring role for them. Now plying his trade with Olympiakos, the veteran forward was directly involved in 49% of their 35 goals (10 goals, 7 assists), while he also played more minutes (1,131) than any of his teammates. Like Wood, the 33-year-old will be determined to make a similar impact on what could be his World Cup swansong.
Iran vs New Zealand Head-to-Head
This will only be the third ever meeting between the two nations, and their first in a competitive fixture.
The two sides played out a goalless draw in their maiden encounter in Auckland back in August 1973.
Fast forward to 2003 and Iran were 3-0 winners when they clashed in Tehran. A first-half brace from Ali Karimi put them in control, before Hossein Kaebi struck midway through the second half to seal the victory.
Iran vs New Zealand Prediction
The Opta supercomputer favours an Iran victory, with Ghalenoei’s side winning 53.8% of the 25,000 pre-match simulations.
New Zealand’s chances of claiming that first ever World Cup win are rated at 20.4%, with a draw at 25.8%.
What will encourage the All Whites, though, is the fact that Iran tend to be slow out of the blocks at the finals.
They have only won their opening match once in six previous appearances (D1 L4) – beating Morocco in 2018 – while each of their last eight goals at the finals have been scored in the second half.
Iran vs New Zealand Squads
IR Iran: Alireza Beiranvand, Payam Niazmand, Hossein Hosseini, Saleh Hardani, Ehsan Hajisafi, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Hossein Kanani, Arya Yousefi, Ali Nemati, Ramin Rezaeian, Danial Eiri, Saeid Ezatolahi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohebbi, Saman Ghoddos, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Mehdi Torabi, Mohammad Ghorbani, Amir Mohammad Razzaghinia, Mehdi Taremi, Mehdi Ghayedi, Ali Alipour, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Shahriyar Moghanloo, Dennis Dargahi.
New Zealand: Max Crocombe, Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud, Tim Payne, Francis de Vries, Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace, Nando Pijnaker, Finn Surman, Callan Elliot, Tommy Smith, Joe Bell, Matthew Garbett, Marko Stamenic, Sarpreet Singh, Alex Rufer, Callum McCowatt, Ryan Thomas, Lachlan Bayliss, Chris Wood, Elijah Just, Kosta Barbarouses, Ben Waine, Ben Old, Jesse Randall.
Iran vs New Zealand Predicted Lineups
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