Iran vs New Zealand Key Stats: FIFA World Cup 2026
by Trystan Pugh ·
Updated
Below you can find key stats for Iran vs New Zealand. From historical trends to player milestones, we have you covered for every match at FIFA World Cup 2026 in USA, Canada & Mexico!
- This is the first FIFA World Cup match between IR Iran and New Zealand. The teams have met twice previously; a 0-0 draw in a friendly in Auckland in 1973 and a 3-0 victory for IR Iran in Tehran in the 2003 AFC–OFC Challenge Cup.
- IR Iran are making a fourth successive appearance at the FIFA World Cup. They had only featured three times in the history of the competition prior to this run.
- Team Melli have yet to make it out of the group stage in six attempts. Their highest-ever points tally in a group was in 2018 when they picked up four points with a 1-0 victory against Morocco and a 1-1 draw against Portugal either side of a narrow 1-0 defeat to Spain.
- Despite exiting in the group stage at Qatar 2022, IR Iran picked up their third win in a match at the finals when they defeated Wales 2-0 courtesy of two goals late in second-half added time.
- The Iranians were the second team, after Japan, to qualify through the FIFA World Cup 2026 preliminary competition in Asia, securing their place after a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan in Tehran on 25 March 2025. The result guaranteed them a top-two finish in Group A, which saw them subsequently finish top of the section.
- IR Iran have never faced a team from the OFC previously in a FIFA World Cup match.
- Only one of IR Iran’s 18 FIFA World Cup matches has finished goalless; a 0-0 draw with Nigeria in their opening game at the 2014 finals.
- Amir Ghalenoei is the first Iranian‑born head coach to lead the national team in a FIFA World Cup campaign since Jalal Talebi in 1998.
- The 2026 edition marks New Zealand’s third FIFA World Cup instalment, having previously featured in football’s biggest competition in 1982 and 2010.
- New Zealand secured qualification on 24 March 2025 with a 3-0 victory over New Caledonia in the final of the OFC tournament and became the second team of any continent, after Japan, to qualify outside of host nations.
- In their previous two World Cup campaigns, New Zealand exited after the group stage. In 1982, they lost all three matches. Remarkably, in 2010, they were the only unbeaten team in the tournament, drawing all three group games against Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay.
- The All Whites’ all-time leading scorer, Chris Wood, achieved a remarkable feat during their qualifying campaign for the 2026 finals, recording hat-tricks in back-to-back matches. He netted three goals against Samoa on 18 November 2024 in their final group-stage fixture, then repeated the act in the semi-final clash against Fiji on 21 March 2025.
- This is New Zealand’s first FIFA World Cup match against AFC opposition. Their only previous fixtures in the competition have been against European or South American teams.
- New Zealand are aiming for their first victory in a FIFA World Cup match at the seventh attempt (D3 L3). The only previous win by an OFC representative at the finals was Australia’s 3-1 victory over Japan in 2006, prior to their move to the AFC.
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Ehsan Hajsafi are the first Iranian players to reach four FIFA World Cup participations. An appearance for Hajsafi here would see him become the first Iranian to reach 10 World Cup matches, having already set the national record with nine.
- Chris Wood and Tommy Smith are the first New Zealand players to feature in two FIFA World Cup tournaments, having both appeared in all three of the All Whites’ matches during their last finals campaign in 2010.
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