- 1 Iran – New Zealand: Tactical battle sets up Group G opener at SoFi Stadium
- 2 Iran lean on their collective strength
- 3 New Zealand banking on physicality to hang in there
- 4 Likely line-ups
- 5 World Cup Prediction Iran vs New Zealand
- 6 Before anything else, a word on our predictions
- 7 No commitment from us
- 8 Information can change
- 9 Your responsibility
- 10 Responsible gambling first
- 11 Legal age
- 12 About the visuals
Iran – New Zealand: Tactical battle sets up Group G opener at SoFi Stadium 
It shapes up as a finely balanced opener in Los Angeles as Group G gets under way. Iran face New Zealand on Monday night inside the futuristic SoFi Stadium. For Iran, this first World Cup date comes with a nasty logistical twist, with travel required on the same day. Up against a physical, compact New Zealand side, Iran will need to be ruthless to get the job done.
Iran lean on their collective strength 
For this clash, Iran come in with excellent defensive confidence despite the likely absence of Jahanbakhsh and Torabi through injury. Iran’s staff are trusting veteran goalkeeper Beiranvand to marshal the back line. Up front, Iran will look to talismanic striker Mehdi Taremi, who has 60 international goals to his name. Iran’s midfield looks stubborn and difficult to break through with the Ezatolahi-Razzaghinia pairing. Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei has drilled a pragmatic game plan to blunt the opposition’s athletic power. Iran’s forwards will try to pounce on every scrap of space in transition. A win for Iran would be the ideal start to the tournament, even with the travel fatigue hanging over them. The whole of Iran is hoping to see the team shine from the first whistle. Iran are ready to shut this one down.
New Zealand banking on physicality to hang in there 
On the other side, New Zealand are back on the world stage after 16 long years away. Darren Bazeley’s men arrive at this tournament in mixed form, having lost worrying warm-up games against Haiti (4-0) and England (1-0) without scoring a single goal. Despite the absence of midfielder Ryan Thomas, the All Whites will be led by their iconic captain and Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood. Back from a major knee injury, the New Zealand giant will be the key man in the Oceania system, tasked with troubling the opposition defence and trying to force a historic result.
Likely line-ups
Iran : Beiranvand ; Rezaeian, Khalilzadeh, Kanaani, Hajsafi ; Ezatolahi, Razzaghinia ; Mohebi, Ghoddos, Ghayedi ; Taremi
New Zealand : Crocombe ; Payne, Surman, Boxall, Cacace ; Bell, Stamenic ; Just, Garbett, Singh ; Wood
on MathODDS
World Cup Prediction Iran vs New Zealand
Under 2.5 goals
This one looks set to be tight and cagey between two sides that put structure and defensive discipline first. Iran have to deal with a tough, draining travel schedule, which should push Amir Ghalenoei to ask his players to control the tempo and avoid going all out. Rock solid at the back, the Iranians have strung together several clean sheets in preparation and have allowed very few clear chances in recent outings.
New Zealand, meanwhile, have been struggling badly in the final third for months, as shown by their recent displays without finding a way through against England or Haiti. The lack of sharpness from main striker Chris Wood, who has only just returned from a long spell out, cuts the threat in the box. Against a compact Iranian block used to these kinds of international battles, the All Whites could find themselves hitting a brick wall. A tactical game with very few goals is the call in Los Angeles.
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