Elijah Just scored twice and Iran answered twice, and Group G opened at SoFi Stadium with a 2-2 draw that gave neither side anything to feel comfortable about. New Zealand were the sharper team across large stretches, but Iran's capacity to find an equaliser twice over means the point is shared, the standings perfectly level, and the tournament arithmetic unresolved for everyone.
Just did the decisive work in the seventh minute. Chris Wood found him and the All Whites midfielder converted, putting New Zealand ahead before Iran had settled into their formation. It was the kind of early goal that can either liberate a team or panic the opposition into overcommitting, and Iran, to their credit, did neither. They absorbed, reorganised, and found a way back.
Ramin Rezaeian was the unlikely architect of their recovery. The right back scored Iran's equaliser on 32 minutes, a figure who would spend the second half providing the assist for their second goal too. Rezaeian finished the game with a goal and an assist from a defensive position, which is a more significant contribution than anyone wearing a number nine managed for either side.
New Zealand restored their lead nine minutes into the second half. Just and Wood combined again, an identical formula: Wood providing, Just finishing, and Iran suddenly needing to do it all over again. At 1-2 with the game in that particular phase, there was a reasonable case that New Zealand might see it out. They held 52 per cent possession across the match, moved the ball accurately at 85 per cent, and had eight attempts on target against Iran's four.
But Iran's response arrived on 64 minutes through Mohammad Mohebi, and the assist was Rezaeian's. The right back's evening was the kind that invites a quiet reassessment of where a team's energy actually comes from. Iran's captain Mehdi Taremi, their most recognisable forward, went 80 minutes without troubling the scoresheet. Rezaeian, nominally a defender, produced the game's most complete individual contribution.
The xG figures are instructive. Iran generated 1.50 expected goals from 17 attempts, including ten inside the box; New Zealand's 14 efforts produced only 1.24 xG. Iran were wasteful in front of goal but controlled the areas that produce chances. Max Crocombe made six saves, New Zealand's goalkeeper considerably busier than Beiranvand, who was required to make two.
The final twenty minutes were stretched, both sides knowing a winner was available and neither quite finding it. Iran brought on Ehsan Hajsafi from the bench and he picked up a yellow card, one of only two bookings across the ninety. The game was competitive without being ugly, which is perhaps a fair summary of what both teams managed.
New Zealand sit top of Group G on goal difference alone, which is a distinction that will mean precisely nothing within a fortnight. Belgium and Egypt drew their opener 1-1, so all four sides go into matchday two level on a point. Just's brace announced him to a global audience; Iran's second-half resilience confirmed they will not be a passive presence in the group.
The point, for New Zealand, represents their first at a World Cup finals in the modern era and comes against a side that reached the 2022 knockout stages. They will view it as progress. Iran, meanwhile, will feel the two dropped points more acutely, given they led in terms of shots and xG and still could not hold a lead. Ghalenoei's side have the tools to progress; whether they have the efficiency is the question that 2-2 cannot answer.