WC 2002-2022
Iran vs New Zealand
No meeting in this window
—
WC 2026 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · GROUP G MEETING
🇮🇷
Iran
GROUP GFIFA #210 PL
vs
🇳🇿
New Zealand
GROUP GFIFA #852 PL
WHAT THIS MATCHUP MEANS
The story before a ball is kicked
Iran arrive in Group G as the mid-tier seed with 0 Premier League players in their squad. New Zealand share that group as the underdog seed with 2 PL regulars.
The two meet directly in the group stage. The result is critical — Group G's order through R32 is decided across just three matchdays, and head-to-head between equally-ranked teams is the second tiebreaker after points.
The pre-match weight of evidence leans Iran's way clearly. Below: a six-dimension head-to-head, the Premier League club distribution per squad, and the Onside verdict.
INTERACTIVE · COMBINED DREAM XI
Build the best XI from BOTH squads
Tap any pitch slot to pick from Iran + New Zealand. Switch formation any time. Saved on this device.
0 / 11IRN 0·NZL 0
Sources: official 26-man squads via football-data.org · Premier League roster fallback when feed lags. Loading saved picks…
HEAD-TO-HEAD · 6 DIMENSIONS
Iran vs New Zealand — where each one wins
Each row scores the two teams 0–100 on a dimension. Longer bar = stronger. The colour-coded chip on the right names the winner of each axis.
FormHow strong they are on paper (FIFA world ranking)
IRN +6580
15
PL footprintHow many Premier League players are in the squad
NZL +90
9
Host edgeWhether they have home advantage as a host nation
LEVEL0
0
Group seedSeed position in their group of four
IRN +5075
25
ConfedTheir confederation's historical tournament strength
IRN +1550
35
ExperienceA proxy for tournament heritage (rank + confederation)
IRN +3958
19
Iran
New Zealand
SQUAD CLUBS · PL PERSPECTIVE
Whose PL players are at the World Cup
If you own any of these clubs' assets in FPL, this matchup matters to your pre-season — tournament minutes here become Saturday minutes in August.
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Iran
No current Premier League regulars in this 26-man squad. Iran's tournament path won't directly shape FPL 2026/27 ownership decisions, but breakout performers here often become next-season targets.
SQUAD · PL CLUB BREAKDOWN
Where New Zealand's 2 PL players come from
For FPL managers: if you own any of these clubs' assets, New Zealand's tournament minutes shape your pre-season. Nott'm Forest leads with 2 players (100%).
Nott'm Forest2 · 100%
ONSIDE VERDICT
Edge to Iran · clearly
- ·Iran sit #21 in the FIFA world ranking — 64 places clear of New Zealand.
REFERENCE · AXIS BREAKDOWN
| Axis | Iran | New Zealand | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form | 80 | 15 | IRN +65 |
| PL footprint | 0 | 9 | NZL +9 |
| Host edge | 0 | 0 | level |
| Group seed | 75 | 25 | IRN +50 |
| Confed | 50 | 35 | IRN +15 |
| Experience | 58 | 19 | IRN +39 |
OTHER COMPARISONS
HEAD-TO-HEAD · MODEL RATINGS
Iran vs New Zealand
IRAN
NEW ZEALAND
FORM SCORE
69
40
ATTACK
70
35
DEFENCE
61
30
EXPERIENCE
62
20
SQUAD-STRENGTH BREAKDOWN
Strength by department
IRAN
- Attack59
- Midfield54
- Defence49
- GK39
NEW ZEALAND
- Attack20
- Midfield20
- Defence15
- GK10
PREVIOUS WORLD CUP ENCOUNTERS
No previous WC encounters
These two haven't met at a World Cup in our 2002-2022 window. Qualifier + friendly history will be added as football-data feed warms up.
Source: openfootball/worldcup.json (CC0). World Cup 2002 → 2022 inclusive.
KEY PLAYERS · BOTH SIDES
The match-defining names
IRAN
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for Iran.
View full Iran squad →NEW ZEALAND
Top-3 by projected xP/90 — these are the players the model rates as match-defining for New Zealand.
View full New Zealand squad →WC MATCHDAY BRIEF · ONE LIST, TWO SEASONS
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