Iran vs New Zealand Predicted Lineups & Team News

Iran and New Zealand meet at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles (Monday 6pm local, Tuesday 2am BST, BBC One) as the two nations get their World Cup campaigns underway in Group G.

Which players are set to play in the match? Here's the Iran vs New Zealand predicted lineups and team news ahead of the clash.

Iran

Iran are competing in their seventh World Cup finals and fourth in a row with the aim of reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

Team Melli finished top of AFC qualifying Group A to seal their spot in this summer's tournament and are on a good run of form ahead of their opening match on Tuesday.

Amir Ghalenoei's men have won three straight matches, defeating Mali and Gambia after beating Costa Rica 5-0 at the end of March.

With Belgium and Egypt to come, a win over New Zealand would stand Iran in good stead to progress to the last 32 as one of the eight best third-placed teams.

New Zealand

Like Iran, New Zealand will be eyeing the opening game as an opportunity to put three points on the board before facing the much-fancied Red Devils and Pharaohs.

New Zealand are competing at their third World Cup finals and first since 2010. Darren Bazeley’s side are aiming to make history by earning a maiden victory at the finals.

The All Whites qualified for the World Cup with an incredible record, scoring a total of 29 goals, conceding just once and winning five games from five.

However, the friendly matches played in preparation for the tournament have been far from plain sailing with New Zealand winning just one game in 10 since the start of September last year.

Beating Chile 4-1 in March, the All Whites lost 4-0 to Haiti before a narrow 1-0 defeat by England.

Remember you can bet on this match and check out all of the live Iran vs New Zealand Odds over on betfred.com

Iran vs New Zealand Key Players

Mehdi Taremi (Iran)

Mehdi Taremi is Iran's top scorer at World Cup finals with his two goals in the tournament coming in a 6-2 defeat by England in Qatar in 2022.

The centre-forward is the Team Melli captain and has icon status, with only Ali Daei having scored more for the country. Taremi has 60 goals in 105 caps and will be the man the team relies on to lead from the front and put the ball in the back of the net.

Turning 34 in July, the striker boasts huge experience, winning the Portuguese league title with FC Porto in 2022 and reaching the Champions League final in 2025 as an Inter Milan player.

Taremi, who now plays his club football for Olympiacos and scored 16 times in 39 matches last season, heads to the World Cup with four goals in his last four games for Iran.

Chris Wood (New Zealand)

Chris Wood turns 35 at the end of the year and is one of those players who has improved and thrived as he's got older.

Spending much of his 20s in the Championship, the forward joined Burnley in 2017 and has now reached double figures in the Premier League on six separate occasions since then.

Wood's best return was in the 2024/25 season as the frontman netted 20 goals in 36 games to help current club Nottingham Forest qualify for Europe.

The attacker is prolific for his country too and has 45 goals in 90 matches for New Zealand.

Coming on as a substitute in all three of the All Whites' group games at the 2010 World Cup when he was just 18, Wood will start this time around and will be going all out to get his name on the scoresheet.

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