Ben Fisher at Los Angeles StadiumTuesday June 16, 2026
Iran’s Shoja Khalilzadeh embraces New Zealand’s Max Crocombe after the full-time whistle in the teams’ opening World Cup Group G match in Los Angeles. Photograph: Daniel Cole/Reuters
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What, exactly, was moving through the minds of Iran’s players as they walked out in Los Angeles? Hours earlier, Donald Trump had been in France ahead of the G7 summit, declaring that a peace deal had been signed. And what of the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, looking on from the VIP seats after effectively conceding that he was unable to shield Iran from the turmoil that has hung over their tournament?
At last, at least for 101 minutes against New Zealand, Iran’s squad could concentrate on the game, just as their manager, Amir Ghalenoei, had promised they would. Mohammad Mohebbi and Ramin Rezaeian struck to erase a sharp Eli Just double, while the roar of a partisan crowd supplied the sort of lift that Iran captain Mehdi Taremi admitted had been lacking in recent months.
With the Hollywood hills visible from parts of this remarkable arena, capped by a teardrop-shaped canopy and a wraparound LED chandelier beneath it, Iran appeared unburdened by the political weight surrounding them. In truth, this may have been the most politically charged sporting occasion ever staged, given the obstacles Iran had to clear simply to reach the field in Los Angeles. This was the first of three Group G matches in the United States, a country Iran has been at war with since February. Eleven Iranian officials were denied entry to the US, forcing the team to move its base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, and delaying preparations.
Add to that the turbulence of Iranian politics and the factional battles attached to it. In the surrounding area, known as “Tehrangeles”, there are hundreds of thousands of Iranian-Americans, the largest Iranian community outside Iran, many of them having fled religious and political repression. Yet division runs deep among Iranians. Protesters gathered outside the team hotel and outside the stadium, delivering blunt messages against the Islamic Republic; one activist said the regime has turned athletes into mouthpieces, while others described Iran’s government as terrorists.
The atmosphere produced a series of striking scenes on the open-top bus ride through the city in the hours before kick-off. Protesters waved the pre-revolutionary flag of Iran and sold merchandise featuring the contentious sun-and-lion emblem, along with portraits of the former shah of Persia. On match day, a Fifa ban on flags was upheld by a judge after a lawsuit was filed in LA’s superior court. Although Fifa’s code of conduct bars material of a “political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature”, several flags still made it into the stadium without challenge; one couple were merely told to remove the sticks attached to theirs. Iran’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, had been quoted as saying the players would walk off if they heard political slogans inside the ground.
Yet inside this spectacular stadium, opposition was muted. From the moment Taremi exchanged pennants with Chris Wood, the backing for Iran was overwhelmingly warm. Unlike in their opening match in Qatar four years ago, Iran sang the national anthem, a choice that remains contentious in itself. Wearing white against the All Whites, Iran started brightly but fell behind in the seventh minute when Just juggled the ball in the area and thumped it past Alireza Beiranvand. The move began with Wood cushioning a long clearance from Millwall goalkeeper Max Crocombe on his chest. Wood and Just then linked up again in the box, with the latter taking the ball from Ali Nemati with his left boot before driving home with the laces of his right.
It was a loose, open contest, and chances kept coming. Shahriar Moghanloo produced what looked like a goal-saving intervention, nicking the ball away from the toes of Wood after the Nottingham Forest forward had lined up a shot. Taremi then struck the post after surging from inside his own half to the edge of the penalty area. Iran drew level when Rezaeian poked home, the 36-year-old rewarded for powering forward after sending a delightful outside-of-the-foot pass infield with his right foot. Saman Ghoddos then supplied a first-time pass into Moghanloo that was excellent in itself; Moghanloo could not finish, but Rezaeian had continued his run, drifting beyond Michael Boxall to fire past Crocombe.
It never seemed likely the scoring would end there, and Just restored New Zealand’s lead 10 minutes into the second half with his second. Once again he linked neatly with Wood, and although Wood pleaded for the Motherwell striker to square the ball, Just calmly lifted it over Beiranvand. New Zealand were unable to protect the advantage again, with Mohebbi heading in off the post nine minutes later after finding space unmarked between centre-backs Boxall and Finn Surman. He celebrated with his arms spread wide, almost asking: how about that? By the final whistle, plenty in the crowd appeared to feel the same.
