Iran fight back to draw with New Zealand as Spain are held by Cape Verde

LOS ANGELES: Iran recovered from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw against New Zealand in their opening World Cup match on Monday, while Spain were unexpectedly held to a goalless result by tournament debutants Cape Verde.

In Group G at SoFi Stadium, Iran earned a point through goals from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebbi after Elijah Just had put New Zealand ahead on both occasions. The match drew particular attention after months of uncertainty over Iran’s participation following the war in the Middle East.

After the game, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei criticised the restrictions placed on his squad since arriving in North America. Iran had originally been set to base themselves in Tucson, Arizona, but moved their training camp to Tijuana in Mexico because of tensions with co-host the United States over visa issues. US authorities did not issue visas to several members of the Iranian delegation, and Ghalenoei said the team had also been instructed to leave the United States immediately after Monday’s match.

Speaking after the draw, Ghalenoei described Iran as the most oppressed team in the World Cup.

"They delayed our arrivals, they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery,"

he said.

They are making the situation more and more difficult, facing us with more hurdles, but we're not going to let that stop us from doing our best.

Protests and crowd response

Hours before kickoff, hundreds of protesters opposing Iran’s ruling system gathered outside the stadium. Ava Amin, identified as a philosophy student, said:

"This team is not the Iranian people's team, it's the regime's team,"

while demonstrating with a banner calling for regime change.

FIFA had warned that spectators carrying Iran’s pre-revolutionary flag into the stadium could be ejected under rules banning political messaging inside venues. However, AFP reporters said they saw dozens of fans wearing shirts featuring the prohibited flag, while others displayed it openly inside the ground. Despite that, there was no other major protest aimed at the Iranian side during the match, and the team received loud backing from supporters, including a strong reception when they emerged for the warm-up.

Spain frustrated by debutants

Elsewhere on Monday, European champions Spain were unable to break down Cape Verde and had to settle for a 0-0 draw. Spain, among the pre-tournament favourites, controlled 74 percent possession and applied sustained pressure but failed to score against the African side, appearing in the World Cup for the first time.

Cape Verde, an island nation of around 525,000 people, were described as 2000-1 outsiders by several betting websites. Goalkeeper Vozinha, 40, said the result fulfilled a long-held ambition.

"The dream came true,"

he told reporters.

We competed against Spain, one of the best teams in the world. We are very happy and proud of all the players and people of Cape Verde.

Cape Verde had never previously qualified for the World Cup and reached the finals after FIFA expanded the tournament to 48 teams. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said his side remained calm despite the setback and still believed it could go deep into the competition.

"We are completely calm, convinced that there is a long way to go. As we see it, we have seven games left,"

he said.

Belgium and Uruguay also held

In another Group G game in Seattle, Egypt led Belgium through Emam Ashour in the first half, but Romelu Lukaku came off the bench after the interval and pressured defender Mohamed Hany into an own goal, allowing Belgium to rescue a draw.

In Group H in Miami, Saudi Arabia went ahead through Abdulelah al-Amri in the 41st minute before Maxi Araujo equalised on 80 minutes to earn Uruguay a 1-1 draw.