Iran vs New Zealand predictions: Iranians to pile more misery on All Whites
Ross Kilvington
Iran are on a three-match winning streak
New Zealand have never won a match at the World Cup
Recommended bet: Iran to win
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Iran are set to make their seventh appearance at the World Cup, although they have never progressed into the knockout stages before.
Amir Ghalenoei has led Iran to three successive victories in the build-up to this tournament, defeating Mali, Gambia and Costa Rica.
New Zealand are making their third World Cup finals appearance, yet have never won a match.
In 2010, the Kiwis ended the tournament as the only undefeated nation, drawing all three matches in South Africa.
The latest Iran vs New Zealand odds are available on LiveScore Bet.
Team news
Iran have no injury worries, with Ghalenoei looking to Mehdi Taremi to lead from the front. He netted twice against England at the 2022 tournament and with 60 goals to his name, he is Iran’s second-highest all-time scorer.
New Zealand manager Darren Bazeley will be hoping Chris Wood is ready to go after injury issues disrupted his 2025-26 campaign with Nottingham Forest.
The striker has scored 45 goals in 90 appearances for his country and featured in all three group-stage games 16 years ago.
The latest Iran vs New Zealand odds are available on LiveScore Bet.
The stats
This will be the first meeting between Iran and New Zealand.
Iran topped their World Cup qualifying group, winning seven of their 10 matches, losing only once in the process.
This is Iran’s fourth successive World Cup and seventh overall.
New Zealand only had to play five qualifying matches in a bid to reach North America this summer. The All Whites won all three games in round two, scoring 19 goals in the process, to progress into the third round.
Bazeley’s side then secured wins over Fiji and New Caledonia to seal a third World Cup appearance.
Iran have lost just once in 90 minutes since October 2025 and that was a narrow 2-1 defeat against Nigeria.
Since securing an impressive 1-0 win over the Ivory Coast in June 2025, New Zealand have lost nine of their subsequent 11 fixtures, conceding 20 goals in those games.
The latest Iran vs New Zealand odds are available on LiveScore Bet.
Prediction
Iran have a real chance to begin their World Cup campaign in positive fashion, especially considering New Zealand’s poor run of form of late.
Key to their success will be the manager bringing out the best in Taremi. The 33-year-old scored eight goals in qualifying and has been in excellent form for the national team of late, netting four times in his last four games.
Bazeley will be looking to make his side hard to beat in North America and if Wood is fit, they have a chance of causing some problems.
This is a tough opening match for the All Whites though and one they must get something from if they want to progress, considering Egypt and Belgium await.
Using their experience, however, Iran should get off to a winning start with a straightforward victory.
Score prediction: Iran 2-0 New Zealand
