Just returned to score again, scoring the second goal for the New Zealand team in the 55th minute, but Mohammed Mahdi Mohebi equalized for Iran again in the 64th minute.

With that result, Iran and New Zealand shared the top spot in the group with one point each, superior on goal difference to Egypt and Belgium, who also scored one point, following their 1-1 draw in Seattle earlier in the same round.

New Zealand will meet Egypt in the second round of the group, which will also witness another confrontation between the teams of Belgium and Iran.

It is noteworthy that the 48 teams participating in the World Cup were distributed into 12 groups, with 4 teams in each group, with the winner and runner-up qualifying for the knockout rounds, in addition to the 8 best third-place teams.

This became the fifth draw for Iran, which is participating in the World Cup for the seventh time, in its record of participation in the World Cup, compared to 3 wins and 11 losses, and the team raised its scoring tally to 15 goals, while conceding 33 goals.
The Iranian national team is looking for its first appearance in the World Cup qualifying rounds, after having previously exited the World Cup in the group stage during its past six participations.

On the other hand, this became the fourth consecutive World Cup tie for New Zealand, which is participating in the World Cup for the third time, after the 1982 and 2010 editions in Spain and South Africa, respectively.

While New Zealand lost its three matches in the Spanish World Cup to Brazil, the Soviet Union, and Scotland, it tied 1-1 with Slovakia and Italy and 0-0 with Paraguay in its three matches at the World Cup in South Africa.