FIFA World Cup 2026: After drawing 2-2 in their first Group G match at the Los Angeles Stadium, Iran and New Zealand have once again ended up with an exciting draw in the FIFA World Cup 2026, dividing the points. Besides the game on the pitch, this match has been famous for creating a new World Cup record. Almost 68 years of World Cup history has passed without that happening, but the draw between Iran and New Zealand was the fourth game of the tournament to end in a draw that day. The last time such a scenario occurred when all matches of a day ended in a draw was in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden.
Monday was a historic day with four games finishing in a draw. Spain and Cape Verde played a goalless draw, Belgium and Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay both had 1-1 draws. And Iran and New Zealand raised the stakes by finishing 2-2.
FIFA World Cup 2026: History recreated as Iran vs New Zealand ends in a draw
It was a historic moment for the FIFA World Cup 2026 as all four games on the same day ended as draws, a first such event in 68 years. The last time it happened was during the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. The thrilling 2-2 match between Iran and New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles that ended in a draw was the final segment of this unusual sequence. It showed that the games have been very close in the first round of the tournament.
At the start, New Zealand was the better team and scored a goal just seven minutes after the kickoff. Elijah Just finished a nice passing move with the captain, Chris Wood, by grabbing the ball in front of the goal. Iran slowly got into the game, and in the 32nd minute, they scored an equalizer, which was totally deserved. The veteran defender, Ramin Rezaeian, had the ball poked into the net from a tight position. The goal gave new momentum to Team Melli, and they maintained a tie going to the halftime break, even though New Zealand was dominating in the early stages.
Just came back on the field and scored the second goal for New Zealand by skilfully chipping it over Alireza Beiranvand who was coming out to him. This time again, Wood set him up. But in the 64th minute Iran made it a point of their. Mohamed Mohebbi, with a slight touch, aimed the ball into the net by the way of a header. The 2-2 result keeps Group G very even, Iran is to play Belgium, while New Zealand is to meet Egypt in their second group-stage match.
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The last time such a rare occurrence happened, it was Brazil who won the FIFA World Cup defeating Sweden in the final. The Selecao won the tournament as Pele and Vava scored a brace each. Zagallo scored in the 68th minute. For Sweden, which was also the host, Agne Simonsson and Nils Liedholm scored a goal each in their 5-2 defeat.
