Iranian players celebrate after Ramin Rezaeian (No.23) scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match between IR Iran and New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: VCG

The highly anticipated Iranian national football team fought back twice to earn a 2-2 draw against New Zealand in its FIFA World Cup opening match on Monday, a result that drew attention from numerous Chinese football fans who have followed the team's difficult road toward the tournament.

With the draw, every Asian Football Confederation team that has played its opening World Cup fixture remains undefeated, highlighting the rising competitiveness of Asian football on the global stage.

For Iran, however, the match was about more than football. Months of uncertainty surrounded the team's World Cup participation amid escalating tensions between Iran and the US. 

Concerns over visas, security arrangements and travel logistics forced the Iranian team to abandon its original training base in Arizona, the US, and relocate to Tijuana, Mexico, shortly before the tournament.

The Iranian delegation also faced entry complications, with some officials being denied visas. As a result, Iran initially planned to travel to the US only on matchdays before returning immediately to Mexico after a match. 

Authorities later allowed the team to enter a day before matches and stay overnight, German media DPA reported Monday citing the Iranian football federation. 

However, Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei said after the match that his players were told they had to immediately travel back to their Mexico training base.

Ghalenoei called his team the "most oppressed" one at the 2026 World Cup as he hit out against the team's treatment in the US.

Iran arrived in Los Angeles on the eve of the match. Even that journey proved challenging, with striker Mehdi Taremi revealing the squad experienced significant travel delays before departure.

For many Chinese fans who watched the World Cup on Tuesday morning Beijing time, the result of the match represented not only a positive start to the team's campaign, but was also a reward for a team that had spent much of the build-up navigating challenges far beyond football.

"I have decided to support Iran for this World Cup after learning about the challenges they've encountered before the tournament," a Chinese RedNote user posted. "Maybe they will suffer defeats, but they have my full support."

Another Chinese fan also voiced her support for Iran, saying, "What does not defeat you will ultimately make you stronger."

Meanwhile, developments off the pitch continued to shape Iran's World Cup journey even after the opening match.

A peace deal was reached between the US and Iran only hours before the team boarded a plane for Los Angeles from their base in Mexico.

Meanwhile, visa-related issues have yet to be fully resolved. Iranian winger Mehdi Torabi was only issued a single-entry visa instead of the multiple-entry permits granted to most of his teammates, Iranian state media IRNA reported Tuesday. 

The Iranian Football Federation "has taken steps to obtain a new visa for Torabi, so that he can accompany the national team in its upcoming matches," the report added.

A video clip circulated on social media on Tuesday showed FIFA President Gianni Infantino hailing the Iranian team while visiting them in the locker room after the match.

"I know what you go through, I understand, but you are stronger than everything. You send a strong message to the entire world. Like tonight, you united the whole stadium here, you united the whole stadium behind you," Infantino said. 

"You showed to your families, friends, to your people, to the world, that you're in the World Cup, that you perform and you have two more games to go. In these two games, you will make again everyone in the world proud of what you do. Thank you for being here."

Iran will face Belgium on Sunday and Egypt on June 27.