Iran begin fraught World Cup with 2-2 New Zealand draw
Iran twice battled back for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday in their frenetic opening match of a World Cup campaign that has been utterly overshadowed by war, politics and protests. The Iranian team’s very presence at the Los Angeles Stadium had long felt uncertain, after months of military conflict between their nation […] The post Iran begin fraught World Cup with 2-2 New Zealand draw appeared first on The Namibian .
Iran twice battled back for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday in their frenetic opening match of a World Cup campaign that has been utterly overshadowed by war, politics and protests.
The Iranian team’s very presence at the Los Angeles Stadium had long felt uncertain, after months of military conflict between their nation and the United States.
At last able to focus on the football, the Iran players twice found themselves trailing to the tournament’s lowest-ranked team, thanks to goals from New Zealand striker Elijah Just.
But with a vocally pro-Iran crowd drowning out planned protests by anti-government demonstrators, equalizers from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi spared Team Melli any further blushes.
The Iran team have dealt with a gamut of obstacles before even arriving at this World Cup, from delayed and refused US visas, to moving their training camp to Mexico at the last minute.
