Iran Draw With New Zealand at World Cup After Pre-Match Protests

During 101 minutes of action in Los Angeles, Iran were finally able to focus on football. The buildup had been messy and chaotic. After an entertaining draw with New Zealand, Iran captain Mehdi Taremi called their World Cup a disaster. He said Fifa president Gianni Infantino visited their dressing room to hear their concerns. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei labelled them the most oppressed team at the tournament after they were forced to return to Mexico after the game.

A charter flight from LAX was scheduled for 11pm local time. It was a lively end to a relatively drama-free occasion, despite pre-match protests and anxiety about how the team would be greeted by their own supporters. A few hours earlier Donald Trump, in France before the G7 summit, said a peace deal had been signed after almost four months of war. Infantino, who recently admitted he is powerless to prevent the chaos that continues to plague Iran's preparations, was up in the VIP seats.

Goals from Mohammad Mohebi and Ramin Rezaeian cancelled out a smart Eli Just double. The partisan crowd provided the kind of joy Taremi said had been missing in recent weeks. With the Hollywood hills visible from parts of the stadium, covered by a teardrop-shaped canopy with an LED chandelier the length of the pitch, Iran did not seem weighed down by political baggage.

This was the first of three Group G games in the USA. Belgium are their opponents on Sunday. Eleven Iran officials were refused entry, prompting them to switch their team base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, where they received a warm welcome. Their training programme was delayed and they travelled to Los Angeles with skeleton staff.

There is also the delicate nature of Iranian politics and the associated infighting. Hundreds of thousands of Iranian-Americans live in the area tagged Tehrangeles, home to the biggest population of Iranians outside Iran, many of whom fled religious and political persecution. Some protested at the team hotel on the eve of the game and outside the stadium with messages against the Islamic Republic.

Protesters carried the pre-revolutionary flag of Iran and portraits of the former shah of Persia. They also sold merchandise with the emblem of a sun and a lion. On the day of the game a Fifa ban on the flags was upheld by a judge after a lawsuit was filed to Los Angeles superior court. That did not stop dozens carrying the flags into the ground. Iran's sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, had said their players would abandon the match if they heard political slogans in the ground.

Inside the stadium, from the moment Taremi exchanged pennants with Chris Wood, the support for Iran was overwhelmingly positive. Unlike in their opening game in Qatar four years ago, Iran sang the national anthem. Iran, all in white against the All Whites, made a fast start but trailed on seven minutes when Just linked with Wood, juggled the ball in the box and scored past Alireza Beiranvand. It was a direct move that stemmed from Wood controlling a long kick downfield by Millwall goalkeeper Max Crocombe. Wood and Just then combined in the box, the latter steering the ball away from Ali Nemati with his left boot and then scoring with his right.

A loose contest meant plenty of openings. Shahriar Moghanloo made a goal-saving block, thwarting Wood after the Nottingham Forest striker wound up a shot. Taremi cracked an effort against the post after soaring to the edge of New Zealand's 18-yard box from inside his own half. Iran levelled when Rezaeian poked in, the 36-year-old rewarded for burning towards goal after flicking the ball infield with the outside of his right foot. Saman Ghoddos's first-time pass into Moghanloo was sumptuous. While Moghanloo was crowded out by Finn Surman, Rezaeian ghosted past defender Michael Boxall to send his shot past Crocombe.

It always felt unlikely the goals would stop there. Just scored his and his country's second 10 minutes into the second half. He again dovetailed with Wood. While Wood screamed for the Motherwell striker to square, he coolly dinked the ball over Beiranvand. New Zealand again failed to hold on to their lead. Mohebi headed in via a post after eluding centre-backs Boxall and Surman.

We were so close to making history, said New Zealand head coach Darren Bazeley. We've maybe taken a few people by surprise in showing who we are and how good we can play. We're disappointed to come away with that sense of what if.