The Iran national football team will face New Zealand in their opening Group G match of the FIFA World Cup 2026. This match is set to take place on Tuesday at the Los Angeles Stadium. Iran arrives at the tournament in impressive shape, carrying strong momentum under head coach Amir Ghalenoei. In their final set of warm-up matches, they secured back-to-back wins, beating Mali 2-0, Gambia 3-1, and delivering a dominant 5-0 victory over Costa Rica. Their only recent defeat came in March, when they narrowly lost 2-1 to Nigeria in a friendly. Overall, the Iran national football team looks well-organized, confident, and highly effective going forward. The team heads into this opening fixture with a fully fit squad available for selection. Midfielders Roozbeh Cheshmi and Mehdi Torabi have both recovered from hamstring and calf injuries, respectively, returning to full training earlier this week. Saeid Ezatolahi has also overcome a recent foot problem and is expected to feature in midfield from the start. One of the biggest talking points, however, is the absence of striker Sardar Azmoun, who was left out of the final squad by Ghalenoei in a bold selection decision. Mehdi Taremi of Olympiacos is set to lead the attack as Iran’s main forward option. In goal, experienced Alireza Beiranvand continues as the undisputed first-choice goalkeeper. The match will kick off at 2am BST on Tuesday, May 16, and fans in the United Kingdom can watch the Iran vs New Zealand match live on BBC One.