The Iranian national team finally got to just play soccer.
Their journey to the World Cup has been uniquely fraught, with a war erupting between the host of their matches and their home country.
They had to relocate their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana , struggled to get all of their traveling party into the United States amid visa scrutiny and absorbed President Trump's suggestion they may not be safe if they chose to play in the World Cup.
With the focus shifted solely to soccer, Iran rallied for a 2-2 draw with New Zealand in front of an announced crowd of 70,108 Monday night at SoFi Stadium. While overcoming so many obstacles could have felt like a win to Team Melli, they left frustrated by their fate on and off the field.
Iran forward Mohammad Mohebi (8) heads the ball for a goal during the second half against New Zealand in group play at the World Cup on Monday. (Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)
After Belgium and Egypt tied 1-1 earlier Monday, all the teams in Group G are tied at one point apiece. The scores made falling short of a win that much more painful.
"At the end, you're not happy today because I think you deserve to win the game, but what actually is football sometimes? You cannot reach what you want," Iran defender Ramin Rezaeian said. "But again, I have to thank my teammates, my friends, my people in Iran. They deserve more. I think we deserve more actually, so you have to see forward and to think about our next game."
FIFA officials told reporters the Iranian team would only answer soccer questions, but Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei vented about more than the tie.
Speaking via a FIFA interpreter, he said, "I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup."
"They said we have to leave immediately," Ghalenoei said, explaining his team would immediately be flying back to Tijuana. "We were supposed to stay until [Tuesday] lunchtime to recover."
FIFA did not respond to requests for comment about the restrictions. Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, told the Associated Press that "we were clear this was the process."
Some World Cup teams are not staying overnight following games, with the U.S. scheduled to fly back to its camp in Irvine after its upcoming game in Seattle.
Despite the challenges, Iran was backed by a largely supportive crowd and entered the game 65 slots ahead of New Zealand in the FIFA world rankings.
Iran fell behind twice, but the team rallied to avoid plummeting to the bottom of its group.
A flurry of chances generated by both teams during stoppage time never translated into a winning goal.
New Zealand struck first.
New Zealand forward Elijah Just, right, celebrates after scoring his second goal against Iran on Monday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Elijah Just rumbled toward the box and seemed to pinball around the Iranian defense. He passed to Sarpreet Singh , who chipped the ball to Chris Wood in the box. Wood then chested the ball back to Just, who took one touch before kicking the ball in for New Zealand's first goal in the seventh minute.
A small but hearty contingent of New Zealand fans cheered.
After the hydration break, Iran's Rezaeian pushed the ball into the box and tapped it to Saman Ghoddos . Shahriyar Moghanlou's shot was blocked, but Rezaeian was in position to tap the deflection into the far lower left corner of the net in the 32nd minute.
The stadium roared as Mexico fans joined Iran fans cheering and waving flags.
Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand watches the ball go into the net after a goal by New Zealand forward Elijah Just in the first half.(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)Iran defender Milad Mohammadi leaps over a New Zealand defender during the second half.(Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)New Zealand defender Finn Surman, top, goes after the ball in front of Iran forward Ali Alipour during the second half.(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)Iranian soccer team fans show their support during the team's 2-2 draw with New Zealand.(Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)
Both teams had chances to break the tie late in the first half.
New Zealand earned a free kick in the 45th minute just outside the box. Wood took a direct shot at the goal, but Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand gathered it with ease.
During first-half stoppage time, Rezaeian's free kick was headed home by Ali Nemati , but Nemati was clearly offside and the goal was waived off by the referees.
In the 54th minute, Iran turned the ball over and Just connected for his second goal of the match.
Iran forward Mohammad Mohebi reacts after scoring against New Zealand in the second half Monday. (Kelvin Kuo / Los Angeles Times)
Iran responded in the 64th minute with Rezaeian's cross headed home by Mohammad Mohebi, tying the score and delighting fans.
Despite a spirited push by both teams, no one could break the tie before time expired.
"We're almost a little bit disappointed," New Zealand's Just said. "We think that today could have been three points, but of course, a lot of positives and we will look forward."
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times .
