In briefThe Iranian national football team will take on New Zealand in their opening Group G match at 11am.Hours after the squad arrived in Los Angeles, a peace deal between the US and Iran was announced.Iran will start its FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign with a match against New Zealand in Los Angeles today, a day after it agreed to a peace deal with the United States to end the war in the Middle East. After months of debate about whether they would participate in the tournament, the Iranian national football team arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon, local time, from Tijuana, Mexico, where they had relocated their base camp due to security concerns related to the conflict. Hours after their arrival, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement to end hostilities between the two countries, which began when the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in February. All the FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage on our World Cup pageHow to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBSWatch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026 at our On Demand hubHow to favourite your FIFA World Cup 2026™ team and never miss a single moment of the actionIran's participation in the tournament would have marked the first time in the World Cup's 96-year history that a country played while at war with a host nation. News that makes senseYour trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.Iran will have to travel from Mexico to the US for each of their three group matches, with their visas permitting them to remain on US soil for less than 48 hours and requiring them to return to Mexico after each game. The Group G match will start at 11am Tuesday AEST, which you can watch live and free on SBS and SBS On Demand. Earlier on Tuesday, Belgium and Egypt drew 1-1 in the other Group G opener. Speaking through a translator at a press conference at Los Angeles Stadium, Iranian coach Amir Ghalenoei said he was "very happy to be representing the great, proud and strong nation of Iran". "I hope that football will bring about joy and enjoyment, and bring closer the cultures and countries," he said. Several Iranian officials have been denied entry, including the national football federation's president, and Ghalenoei said the travel and visa denials had negatively affected the squad.Hadi, a Socceroos fan who was raised in Iran but moved to Australia as a teenager, and is part of the Hazara community from Afghanistan, told SBS News the peace deal was "good for the world"."This conflict ... the whole world [is] suffering from that," he said. "We don't know what's gonna happen in the background, but on the paper it looks like it's good." Protesters rally against Iranian governmentOutside the stadium and the Iranian team's hotel, protesters demonstrated calling for democracy in Iran and denouncing its government. Protesters demonstrated outside the hotel where the Iranian football team is staying in Los Angeles. Source: Anadolu, Getty / Bozhan Memiş"No Shah — No Mullah in Iran — Regime Change by Iranians," placards read. Los Angeles is home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities, many of whom fiercely oppose the Iranian government. — With additional reporting by Haylena Krishnamoorthy You can watch all 104 matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ live, free and exclusive on SBS, SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand.For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.