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The Iranian team also shifted their base camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, meaning they must cross the border for each of their three group-stage matches in the United States.

Tensions surrounding the team have remained high despite reports of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Iranian football officials have criticised FIFA after 15 members of their federation were denied visas to travel to the tournament. The atmosphere was evident during the World Cup’s opening ceremony at Los Angeles Stadium, where boos were heard as the Iranian flag was carried onto the field.

On the pitch, both teams will be aiming to rewrite their World Cup histories.

Iran are appearing in their fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh overall but have never progressed beyond the group stage. They have, however, shown signs of improvement, defeating Morocco in 2018 and Wales in 2022 to record group-stage wins in consecutive tournaments.

New Zealand, meanwhile, are making their first World Cup appearance since 2010 where they were eliminated from the group stage despite drawing all three matches. It will be their third appearance overall and they are still searching for their first-ever World Cup victory.

Their hopes will largely rest on captain Chris Wood, New Zealand’s all-time leading scorer, who demonstrated his form during qualifying with back-to-back hat-tricks against Samoa and Fiji.

Monday’s encounter will mark the first World Cup meeting between the two nations and the first time either side has faced an opponent from the other’s confederation at the tournament.