Quality performance shows New Zealand belong at World Cup, coach says

New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley lauded his players' "battling performance" following their 2-2 draw with Iran in their opening World Cup match. Despite coming agonizingly close to securing a historic first-ever World Cup win, Bazeley insisted the team demonstrated the quality required to overcome that hurdle.

Iran twice equalized against the All Whites in an entertaining Group G encounter, which saw Elijah Just score a brace for New Zealand. "That may be our best performance ever, or since I've been involved with the All Whites, which is a long time," Bazeley commented. "Overall, I thought it was a really strong performance and I think we showed the world who we are and who our players are."

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That may be our best performance ever, or since I've been involved with the All Whites, which is a long time. Overall, I thought it was a really strong performance and I think we showed the world who we are and who our players are.

The draw means all four teams in Group G have secured one point, following Belgium's 1-1 tie with Egypt earlier on Monday. This result extends New Zealand's winless streak at the World Cup finals to seven matches across their three tournament appearances. Bazeley acknowledged the sting of falling short of a maiden victory but remained optimistic.

"We came here to win, and today we were so close to making history," he stated. "We haven't won a game at a World Cup, and we're so close to doing that today, and that hurts." He attributed Iran's late equalizer to one of the team's few defensive lapses but predicted more positive moments for his squad during the tournament, citing consistent "moments within the games against good teams where we play really well and create chances."

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We came here to win, and today we were so close to making history. We haven't won a game at a World Cup, and we're so close to doing that today, and that hurts.