{"id":213972,"date":"2026-06-16T05:13:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T05:13:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-and-new-zealand-play-out-entertaining-world-cup-2026-draw-live-updates-reaction-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2026-06-16T05:13:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T05:13:26","slug":"iran-and-new-zealand-play-out-entertaining-world-cup-2026-draw-live-updates-reaction-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/iran-and-new-zealand-play-out-entertaining-world-cup-2026-draw-live-updates-reaction-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran and New Zealand play out entertaining World Cup 2026 draw: Live updates, reaction – The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It feels really harsh that New Zealand's Elijah Just isn't the man holding the fancy Player of the Match award after that performance.
He scored two really good goals to twice give his side the lead and was a thorn in Iran's side throughout the match.
The 26-year-old was positive in his attacking play and got stuck into his fair of duels on the ground and in the air.
Just might have gone without reward but he will be a hero right now back in his home country.
Like Ramin Rezaeian, Eli Just is also unsatisfied with the draw.
He says New Zealand are \u201creally disappointed\u201d to not get all three points but there are still \u201ca lot of positives\u201d to take from tonight.
New Zealand\u2019s double goalscorer has been speaking to the media after the match \u2014 here\u2019s what he had to say about his team-mate, striker Chris Wood.
💬 \u201cHe (Wood) was incredible. He was such a strong platform for us today. He got us out of a lot of trouble when we needed to go long and he\u2019s our captain, our big player, that\u2019s what we expect.<\/em><\/strong>
\u201cEverybody is so happy that he is fit and ready to go.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>
Now, let's hear from New Zealand goalscorer Eli Just…
Iran have gone through plenty of off-field turmoil to even reach this World Cup.
They can be pleased with that performance, where they let their football do the talking to take home a deserved draw.
With a population of more than five million, New Zealand are not as small as Cape Verde or Curacao, but they are still one of the tournament\u2019s minnows.
A solid showing from all three of those nations in their first group games!
That\u2019s a tough draw for New Zealand, who will feel hard done by to have come pretty close to their first ever World Cup win.
They held their own and scored two high-quality goals \u2014 so there is plenty to feel proud of.
It has been a tournament for imitating celebrations so far.
We had iconic wrestler John Cena's \u2018you can't see me\u2019 gesture yesterday and then Vince McMahon's billionaire strut \u2014 that was popularised further by MMA fighter Conor McGregor \u2014 earlier today from Egypt's Emam Ashour.
A move away from WWE to the NBA from Mohammad Mohebi who copied LaMelo Ball's celebration after equalising for Iran in the second half.
Great fun to see the crossovers across different sports!
Bang in the corner of the net from Mohebbi, placement does not get any better than this!
Mohammad Mohebi celebrates bringing Iran level \u2014 a great finish with a header off the post.
That was about as satisfying as headers come!
Team Stats
IRN
NZL
Game Details<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

World CupAdvertisementliveUpdated 23m agoIran came from behind twice to record an entertaining 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Group G at the 2026 World Cup.Eli Just twice gave his side the lead, but the Iranians twice equalised, through Ramin Rezaeian's flick and Mohammad Mohebi's fine header.Fans have been banned from bringing pre-revolutionary Iran flags into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":213973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-213972","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}