6 hours ago
Key events
Team guide: Iran
By Behnam Jafarzadeh
Iran were 1 of nan first teams to unafraid qualification for nan 2026 World Cup and, compared to erstwhile campaigns, they had a comparatively soft way to nan tournament. However, preparing nan squad for nan title has been thing but easy. Iran’s conflicts pinch nan US and Israel threw their engagement astatine nan World Cup into superior uncertainty – each 3 of their group games return spot successful nan US – and Amir Ghalenoei, nan manager, and his coaching unit person had to activity difficult to minimise disruption.
Nevertheless, successful their 2 friendlies successful March against Nigeria and Costa Rica, Iran showed that they person different plans successful mind for nan World Cup. In nan first lucifer against Nigeria, they lined up successful a 3-6-1 statement – a setup Ghalenoei described arsenic nan team’s “defensive scheme B”, apt designed for nan group gathering pinch Belgium. In nan 2nd crippled against Costa Rica, Ghalenoei utilized a 4-4-2 formation, indicating that he intends to displacement strategies depending connected nan opponent. The superior strategy remains 4-2-3-1, which Iran utilized successful astir of qualifying.
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Despite nan problems and controversies surrounding nan nationalist team, who moved their World Cup guidelines campy from nan US to Mexico conscionable weeks earlier nan tournament, Ghalenoei still believes his broadside are tin of achieving thing special. “We’ve had galore problems recently, but nan players tried their champion and made sacrifices. They worked truthful difficult [through qualification] and sacrificed a lot, truthful it is my occupation to convey them. They tin do thing epic successful nan World Cup. They tin do it, they person nan method imaginable to make this a World Cup to remember.”
Find retired much astir nan Iran shot squad down nan headlines …
Preamble
Martin Pegan
Hello and welcome to unrecorded sum of the World Cup lucifer betwixt Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium. This is 1 of nan astir highly anticipated games of nan group shape moreover while featuring 2 sides that person ne'er reached nan knockouts astatine nan tournament.
The conflict betwixt Iran and nan US-Israel has dominated nan buildup to nan crippled – and overmuch of nan tourney – pinch uncertainty complete whether nan Asian federation would moreover beryllium permitted to play matches successful a state pinch which it is astatine war. That’s earlier getting to nan galore disruptions that person affected nan Iran player’s and squad staff’s preparations, including ongoing issues complete visas and introduction to nan US, and being based successful Tijuana, Mexico, while each 3 of their group shape matches are fixtures northbound of nan border.
Turning attraction to matters connected nan pitch, Iran are playing astatine their seventh World Cup. But they are still to advancement past nan group shape – only Scotland person been to nan world tourney much times and recovered nan first information an insurmountable hurdle. While Iran person that history, arsenic good arsenic modern-day chaos and challenges to overcome, they person beardown shape down them aft breezing done qualifying pinch only 1 conclusion successful 16 matches, and ramping up their last preparations pinch 3 comfortable victories.
New Zealand, connected nan different hand, person mostly flown nether nan radar and get arsenic nan lowest-ranked squad astatine No 85. This is conscionable their 3rd quality astatine nan tourney aft making their debut and suffering 3 defeats successful 1982. They returned successful 2010 and were nan only broadside to time off South Africa undefeated aft holding reigning champions Italy to a 1-1 tie successful nan group shape and besides sharing nan points pinch Slovakia and Paraguay.
But that grounds leaves New Zealand still searching for a first World Cup triumph. Darren Bazeley’s broadside won each 5 qualifying matches – while scoring 29 goals and conceding only erstwhile – to return afloat advantage of nan Oceania convention being guaranteed a spot astatine this year’s tournament. Their shape has dipped much successful caller times, but pinch Belgium and Egypt nan different sides making up Group G, this looks arsenic bully a chance arsenic immoderate for nan All Whites to declare a breakthrough victory.
Kick-off is 6pm section aliases PDT/9pm EDT/2am BST/11am AEST. For those counting down from nan lands of nan competing nations, kick-off is 4.30am IRST/1pm NZST. I’ll beryllium backmost soon pinch nan line-ups and squad news. In nan meantime, get successful touch pinch immoderate questions, thoughts and predictions. You tin shoot maine an email, aliases find maine connected Bluesky @martinpegan.bsky.social. Let’s get into it!
