The Iranian team was finally able to play only football.
Their road to the World Cup has been exceptionally tense, with a war breaking out between the host of their matches and their home country.
They had to move their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, struggled to get their entire traveling party into the United States amid visa scrutiny and came to terms with President Trump's suggestion that they might not be safe if they decided to play in the World Cup.
With attention focused solely on soccer, Iran rallied to draw 2-2 with New Zealand in front of an announced crowd of 70,108 on Monday night at SoFi Stadium. While overcoming so many obstacles could have been a victory for Team Melli, they left frustrated by their fate on and off the field.
Iranian striker Mohammad Mohebi (8) heads the ball to score a goal during the second half against New Zealand in their World Cup group match on Monday.
(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)
After Belgium and Egypt drew 1-1 earlier Monday, all teams in Group G are tied at one point each. The scores made not getting a win that much more painful.
“In the end, today you are not happy because I think you deserve to win the game, but what is football really sometimes? You can't achieve what you want,” said Iran's Ramin Rezaeian. “But again, I have to thank my teammates, my friends, my people in Iran. They deserve more. I think we actually deserve more, so we have to look forward and think about our next game.”
FIFA officials told reporters that the Iranian team would only answer questions about soccer, but Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei talked about more than just the draw.
Speaking through a FIFA interpreter, he said: “I think perhaps our team is the most downtrodden in the entire World Cup.”
“They said we had to leave immediately,” Ghalenoei said, explaining that his team would immediately fly back to Tijuana. “We were supposed to stay until lunchtime tomorrow to recover.”
Despite the challenges, Iran were backed by a largely supportive crowd and entered the game 65 places ahead of New Zealand in the FIFA world rankings.
Iran fell behind twice, but the team rallied to avoid falling to the bottom of their group.
An avalanche of chances generated by both teams during stoppage time never translated into a winning goal.
New Zealand struck first.
New Zealand striker Elijah Just (right) celebrates after scoring his second goal against Iran on Monday.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Elijah Just ran into the box and appeared to surround the Iranian defense. He passed to Sarpreet Singh, who passed the ball to Chris Wood in the box. Wood then chested the ball back to Just, who took a touch before kicking the ball for New Zealand's first goal in the seventh minute.
A small but enthusiastic contingent of New Zealand fans applauded.
After the hydration break, Iran's Rezaeian pushed the ball into the area and gave it to Saman Ghoddos. Shahriyar Moghanlou's shot was blocked, but Rezaeian was in position to take the deflection into the bottom left corner of the net in the 32nd minute.
The stadium roared as Mexico fans joined Iran fans in cheering and waving flags.
1. Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand watches as the ball goes into the net after a goal by New Zealand striker Elijah Just in the first half. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 2. Iranian defender Milad Mohammadi jumps over a New Zealand defender during the second half. (Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times) 3. New Zealand defender Finn Surman, above, chases the ball past Iranian striker Ali Alipour during the second half. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times) 4. Fans of the Iranian soccer team show their support during the team's 2-2 draw against New Zealand. (Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)
Both teams had opportunities to break the tie at the end of the first half.
New Zealand were awarded a free kick in the 45th minute just outside the box. Wood shot straight at the goal, but was easily stopped by Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
During first-half stoppage time, Ali Nemati headed in a Rezaeian free kick, but Nemati was clearly offside and the referees disallowed the goal.
In the 54th minute, Iran lost the ball and Just scored his second goal of the game.
Iranian striker Mohammad Mohebi reacts after scoring against New Zealand in the second half on Monday.
(Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)
Iran responded in the 64th minute with a Rezaeian cross headed by Mohammad Mohebi, tying the score and delighting the fans.
Despite vigorous pushing by both teams, no one was able to break the tie before time expired.
“We're almost a little disappointed,” said New Zealand's Just. “We think today could have been three points, but of course there are a lot of positives and we will look forward to it.”
Highlights of the 2-2 draw between Iran and New Zealand in World Cup Group G are played on Monday.
