The gallery was abuzz with attention even before the match.
Iranian fans could be seen waving three types of flags: the current Iranian official flag, the pre-revolutionary 'Sun and Lion' flag, and a green-white-red flag without symbols. A Palestinian flag was also seen on one side of the gallery.
As the Iranian national anthem played, a duet floated out of one part of the stadium. Many joined in with the players. Despite protests outside the field, Iran started the game with great enthusiasm on the field.
They put New Zealand under pressure with a high press immediately after kick-off. But against the flow of the game, New Zealand took the lead in the 7th minute. Chris Wood intercepted a long ball from their own half. He then passed to Elijah Just on the right. Just found space and fired the ball into the net with a right-footed shot. Iran played well at the start, but fell behind.
The pace of the match did not slow down even after the goal. In the 12th minute, Sarpreet Singh entered the box from the left and took a low shot, but it was off target. In the 15th minute, New Zealand got a corner. Wood quickly turned and tried to take a shot on the attack created by a short pass, but the Iranian defense blocked it. The match became more open from the 17th minute onwards. Both teams were quickly attacking. In the 19th minute, Sarpreet Singh took a shot from distance, but Beiranvand easily caught the ball. In the 23rd minute, Iran got a big chance. Taremi came up through the middle and took a long-range shot. The ball hit the right post despite beating Crocombe. The first cooling break occurred in the 25th minute. Iran's pressure continued even after the break. In the 29th minute, Crocombe moved away from the ball under pressure from Taremi. Seeing the opportunity, Saman Ghoddosh tried to score with a volley from distance, but the shot did not go well. Finally, Iran equalized in the 32nd minute. They were putting pressure on the New Zealand defence with one attack after another. Ghoddos tried to pass forward, Moganlu fell. Rezaian, who was nearby, reacted quickly and sent the ball into the net with his right foot. The ball eluded Crocombe and went into the bottom left corner. The scoreline was 1-1. After Iran equalized, a couple of whistles could be heard from one part of the gallery. However, at the same time, the Iranian fans' cheers also increased. Their support grew stronger in the last 10 minutes.
In the 38th minute, New Zealand slowed down the pace of the game a bit and tried to build a patient attack from the back. In the 44th minute, the Iranian defence fouled Kakache, giving New Zealand a free-kick from outside the box. In the 45th minute, Wood's low shot went straight into Beiranvand's hands. Several more incidents occurred in added time in the first half. In the 45+1 minute, McQuatt took a shot from distance, but it was weak. In the 45+3 minute, Moganlu tried to turn back and flick the ball from a long throw, but the ball went over the net. In the 45+5 minute, Iran almost took the lead. Nemati headed a free-kick taken from about 40 meters away. The ball went into the net, but Iran's celebration was stopped by the offside flag. The first half ended in a 1-1 draw. At the beginning, Iran's high press, New Zealand's counterattack and then Rezaian's goal immediately set the match in motion.
The attacks and counterattacks continued at the beginning of the second half. In the 46 minute, a long ball sent to Taremi was cleared brilliantly by Finn Sarman. In the 47 minute, Wood took a shot from a distance, but the ball went outside the post. In the 49 minute, Sarman headed Rezaian's corner. Ghaedi's shot was also blocked in the return attack. In the 51 minute, Moganlu took a left-footed curling shot from the right, but the ball went outside the far post. Iran made its first change in the 53 minute. Ali Alipour replaced Moganlu.
A minute later, New Zealand took the lead again. In the 54th minute, Just intercepted a pass from Wood and entered the box from the right side in a quick counterattack. He passed the ball over Beiranvand, who was advancing. When it hit the net, Just scored his second goal of the match, and New Zealand went ahead 2-1. Iran quickly returned to the attack despite some pressure after the goal. In the 57th minute, Taremi received a cross from the left and headed it. Crocombe came forward and blocked the first header. The ball was heading towards Mohebbi, who was close, but the New Zealand goalkeeper jumped again and cleared the danger. Later, the offside whistle sounded.
After 60 minutes, the match became more open. New Zealand then waited without the ball and took the strategy of going for a quick attack. Iran repeatedly increased the pressure. In the 64th minute, they got the result of that pressure. Mohebbi headed Rezaian's cross from the right side beautifully. The ball went into the bottom left corner of the goal. The scoreline was 2-2. The Iranian fans roared again after the goal. In the 65th minute, Iran brought on Ehsan Hajsafi for Ghoddosh. In the 69th minute, a cooling break was taken while Crocombe was treated. New Zealand also prepared for the substitution.
The match became increasingly physical in the final 20 minutes. By the 75th minute, Iran were attacking, while New Zealand were relatively patient and making quick decisions in the final third. In the 78th minute, New Zealand brought on Callan Elliott for Tim Paine. In the 80th minute, Taremi headed a cross from the right, but it went too high. Iran then picked him up and brought on Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh.
Khalilzadeh suffered a face injury in a clash with Wood in the 83rd minute. In the 85th minute, Ezatollahi shot from outside the box, but the ball went well over the crossbar. In the 87th minute, Mohebbi took a curling shot from the left, but it went straight into the hands of Crocombe. In the 89th minute, Hajsafi was shown a yellow card for a bad foul. In the same minute, Iran got a corner. After a corner from the left, the ball fell to the right side of the box, but they could not take the final shot properly. New Zealand quickly cleared the ball and tried to counterattack.
There were five minutes of added time. In the 90+3th minute, Wood received a cross from the left and tried to send the ball towards the goal. However, his attempt was easily caught by Beiranvand. In the 90+4th minute, Iran got a corner for the last time. An Iranian player headed the ball at the far post from the left. The ball was heading towards the goal again, but Thomas headed it backwards to clear the danger. No other Iranian player could touch the ball. The final whistle blew in the sixth minute of added time. The thrilling match between Iran and New Zealand ended with a 2-2 draw.
It is worth noting that Iran was ahead in form before the match. Their form in the last five matches was win-win-win-lose-draw. They won the last three friendlies against Mali, Gambia and Costa Rica. On the other hand, New Zealand's form was lose-lose-lose-lose-lose. They have not won a match since their 1-0 win against Ivory Coast in June 2025.