Iran and New Zealand have named their starting teams as both nations begin their 2026 World Cup campaigns in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Team Melli have never progressed beyond the group stage, suffering immediate eliminations at each of the last three editions.
The All Whites are seeking their first win at the finals in their seventh World Cup match, although they held Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay at the 2010 tournament, having lost three games in 1982.
The match is the second to take place in Group G, which started when Belgium faced Egypt on Monday.
Our captain speaks on the eve of our return to the men’s FIFA World Cup 🇳🇿🏆 pic.twitter.com/R8Dd9Mcv8s
— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) June 15, 2026
World Cup 2026: Iran confirmed team vs New Zealand
Captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who was once the Eredivisie top scorer and Brighton & Hove Albion’s club-record £17 million signing, has been struggling with a knock sustained with Belgian club Dender but is fit enough to start on the bench.
Centre-back or midfielder Roozbeh Cheshmi will miss the finals with a hamstring injury.
Striker Sardar Azmoun – the third-highest goalscorer in the country’s history, with 57 goals from 91 caps – was left out of the squad after reportedly angering the Iranian government by posting a photo of himself with UAE ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Instagram in March.
Iran starting XI: Beiranvand; Khalilzadeh, Mohammadi, Yousefi, Nemati, Rezaeian; Ezatolahi, Mohebbi, Ghoddos; Taremi, Moghanloo
Iran substitutes: Niazmand, Hosseini, Hardani, Hajisafi, Kanani, Iri, Jahanbakhsh, Cheshmi, Torabi, Ghorbani, Razaghinia, Ghayedi, Alipour, Hosseinzadeh, Dargahi
World Cup 2026: New Zealand full line up vs Iran
New Zealand midfielder Matthew Garbett, of English third-tier side Peterborough United, was ruled out after sustaining a hamstring issue in training.
Record 45-goal scorer Chris Wood returned from a severe knee injury for Nottingham Forest in April and played for much of New Zealand’s defeat to England and preceding 4-0 loss against Haiti.
Tim Payne missed two months of the season with a broken collarbone and has been hampered by two minor hamstring issues since then, but the 32-year-old right-back also featured in those friendlies, as did former Bayern Munich winger Sarpreet Singh, who suffered a significant knee injury in February.
New Zealand starting XI: Crocombe; Payne, Boxall, Cacace, Surman; Bell, Stamenic, Singh, Just, McCowatt, Wood
New Zealand substitutes: Paulsen, Woud, De Vries, Bindon, Pijnaker, Elliot, Smith, Rufer, Old, Thomas, Bayliss, Barbarouses, Waine, Randall
Where to watch Iran vs New Zealand: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Tuesday is at 02:00 BST (21:00 ET / 18:00 PT). In the UK, live coverage is on BBC One.
Fans can stream the action on a vast range of devices through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: Iran vs New Zealand stats
- This is Iran’s seventh appearance at the World Cup, with only Scotland (8) making more appearances in the finals without advancing
- Among teams to have taken part in at least World Cup matches, Iran have scored the fewest goals per game (0.72), while only Bulgaria have a lower win rate (11.5%, vs 16.7% for Iran)
- Iran have scored six goals over the last two World Cups in 2018 and 2022, five of which have come during second-half added time
- They are unbeaten in 24 home matches in qualifying (W20 D4); the longest run in their history, overtaking an 18-game run between 1993 and 2004
- Mehdi Taremi was directly involved in 49% of Iran’s goals in qualifying, scoring 10 and assisting seven out of 35
- Amir Ghalenoei is at his first World Cup as a head coach and is the third Iranian to lead his nation at the tournament, after Heshmat Mohajerani (1978) and Jalal Talebi (1998)
- New Zealand’s three draws made them the only unbeaten side at the 2010 World Cup
- Only Honduras (9) and Egypt (7) have played more World Cup matches than New Zealand (6) without ever winning
- They qualified following a three-match knockout round in March 2025, beating New Caledonia 3-0 in the final to take advantage of the first time Oceania has been guaranteed one slot at the World Cup
- Captain Chris Wood was the top scorer in the Oceanian section of qualifying, netting nine times across five matches.
- Darren Bazeley is also a World Cup debutant. The Englishman won the 2024 OFC Nations Cup with New Zealand and is the third individual to lead the All Whites at a World Cup tournament, after John Adshead (1982) and Ricki Herbert (2010)
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