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FWC on Sport Nation guideThree key takeaways from All Whites' impressive World Cup opener vs Iran
Riccardo Ball • June 17th, 2026 10:37 am
Eli Just celebrates with Tim Payne | Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport
The All Whites kicked their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign off against Iran in LA’s three and a half billion dollar SoFi Stadium against a backdrop of protest, political unrest and global uncertainty.
The main talking points in the press conferences ahead of the match were about everything other than football, so it was a relief when the whistle went and what happened on the pitch finally became the focus on Tuesday (NZ time).
An Elijah Just double and Iran coming from behind twice to secure a point wouldn’t have featured on too many bingo cards ahead of kick-off, but this match taught us a few things about this All Whites team and this tournament to boot.
The Socceroos beating Türkiye, Cape Verde keeping Spain goalless and even Qatar taking a point off Switzerland probably count as bigger surprises in the World Cup so far, but with New Zealand given a very distinct underdog tag by bookmakers it was still an outlier of a result.
So, what did we learn?
1. The All Whites can score goals!
The lack of goals from this side had been a concern for sometime and even the 4-1 victory over Chile in the March FIFA Series at Eden Park carried the asterix of the visitors being down to ten men for an hour - but on the biggest stage, they found goals when it counted.
Chris Wood has often been cited as New Zealand’s main goal threat and against Iran that played into his team's favour. Both of Eli Just's goals saw Wood drawing multiple defenders to him and freeing up space for Just to run into and have time to take a shot.
Wood and Just weren’t the only goal threats. Callum McCowatt, Sapreet Singh and Liberato Cacace all had opportunities to score and that sort of attacking threat isn’t something we’ve seen from this team previously.
All Whites show a willingness to attack early against Iran | FIFA World Cup 2026 on Sport Nation
2. This side has belief
That belief will only be reinforced by the goals against Iran - but what was telling was how vocal the players and coaching staff were about their disappointment to not to take the win.
That is a mindset that they’ll need when they meet Mo Salah’s Egypt.
3. Tactical flexibility
Previously, All Whites sides looked to have strict structures in place, and while they kept their shape well against Iran for the most part, there was a certain fluidity to the side that we haven’t seen before.
Sarpreet Singh was nominally in the 10 role, but we often saw him wide on the right with Just playing off of Wood.
McCowatt similarly started the game as a right-sided attacker - but he dropped deeper to pick the ball up at times, taking advantage of the space Iran were leaving in the middle of the park and was the top of a midfield pyramid driving forward in possession.
In all, it was New Zealand's most complete performance at a World Cup.
For context, the All Whites created as many chances in the first 30 minutes against Iran as they did in the entire 2010 campaign. This is a different team playing a different way and a coach who has a lot more quality options at his disposal.
Bring on the Pharaohs!
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Our football panel commend Darren Bazeley for his tactics vs Iran | FIFA World Cup 2026 on Sport Nation
