Iran and New Zealand played to a 2-2 draw on June 15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi scored for Iran, while New Zealand’s Eli Just bagged a brace to level the match. The Iranian diaspora, one of the largest in the world and heavily concentrated in the Los Angeles area, turned SoFi into something resembling a home fixture for Team Melli.
Iran’s national team has long been a lightning rod for political tension. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where Iranian players notably declined to sing the national anthem in solidarity with domestic protests, was a preview of how charged these moments can become. Fans expressed positive sentiments despite deep ideological divisions, rallying behind the players rather than debating what the jersey represents.
The first crypto-sponsored World Cup
This World Cup is the first edition of the tournament to explicitly incorporate crypto sponsorship at the highest levels. Kraken is the official crypto exchange supporter of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Chiliz powers fan tokens on the Socios platform, enabling supporters to vote on minor club decisions and access exclusive content. Avalanche supports FIFA Collect NFTs, the digital collectible layer that FIFA has been building since 2022.
