{"id":3948,"date":"2026-06-16T09:04:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T09:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3948"},"modified":"2026-06-16T09:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T09:04:20","slug":"elijah-justs-2-goal-world-cup-breakthrough-lifts-new-zealand-to-gritty-draw-with-iran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3948","title":{"rendered":"Elijah Just\u2019s 2-goal World Cup breakthrough lifts New Zealand to gritty draw with Iran"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
New Zealand\u2019s Elijah Just (11) celebrates after scoring a goal during the World Cup Group G soccer match between Iran and New Zealand in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Andre Penner)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

INGLEWOOD, Calif. \u2014 Elijah Just made history as the first New Zealand<\/a> player to score two goals in the World Cup. It wasn\u2019t quite enough for the team from the bottom of the world to pull off its first-ever win.<\/p>

Read more Tunisia fires coach Sabri Lamouchi after heavy opening World Cup loss and appoints Renard<\/a><\/p>\n

The All Whites held Iran to 2-2<\/a> on Monday night in the Los Angeles area, the fourth consecutive draw in World Cup play for New Zealand, which was unbeaten in the 2010 edition with three draws.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat may be our best performance ever,\u201d coach Darren Bazeley said. \u201cWe came here to win and we were so close to making history.\u201d<\/p>\n

The All Whites led 1-0 and 2-1 thanks to Just, who blew kisses to a crowd that included FIFA President Gianni Infantino after his second goal. Chris Wood<\/a> , the Kiwis\u2019 best known player, assisted on both goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe showed today that we\u2019re a dangerous team,\u201d Just said. \u201cYou can\u2019t be disappointed. A point in the World Cup is always tough to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old winger came into the World Cup off a strong season with Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership, where he was a contender for player of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t surprise me. I\u2019ve known him a really long time,\u201d Bazeley said of Just. \u201cHe showed the world how dangerous he can be. He\u2019s of slight build but he gets into pockets, turns and reacts quick. A lot of people are probably watching that today and saying, \u2018He\u2019s a good player.\u2019 This is going to help him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just had his parents, brother, uncle and girlfriend in the crowd, which was dominated by Iranian fans, which was to be expected given that Los Angeles is home to the largest population of Iranians outside of their home country.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking out the adrenaline was really high,\u201d Just said. \u201cOnce the game started you kind of calm down a little bit. We were quite good with the ball. We dealt with the occasion really well. The players were really brave. Overall, it\u2019s the performance we needed.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Twenty years after playing in the World Cup for Australia, Popovic is now guiding the Socceroos<\/a><\/p>\n

Before the World Cup expanded to 48 teams for this edition, the All Whites had qualified only twice in 1982 and 2010. They have never advanced past the group stages.<\/p>\n

The team spent the day watching other World Cup matches, including underdog Cape Verde drawing against Spain<\/a> . That left Bazeley thinking it could be his team\u2019s day.<\/p>\n

New Zealand, which entered the tournament as the lowest ranked qualifier at 85th, is better known as a rugby union powerhouse.<\/p>\n

Just\u2019s performance in challenging Iran, which was heavily favored, gave the All Whites a jolt of confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an amazing player and he\u2019s so dangerous when we get him going forward,\u201d defender Finn Surman said.<\/p>\n

The All Whites\u2019 next chance to notch their first World Cup victory comes Sunday, when they play Egypt in Vancouver, British Columbia.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s potentially changed people\u2019s view on us and what they kind of expect from us,\u201d Surman said. \u201cWe still think we can be better. We know we can be better.\u201d<\/p>

Read more Fit to be tied: The big upsets at the World Cup so far have been matches ending at 0-0, 1-1 and 2-2<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elijah Just has made history as the first New Zealand player to score two goals in a World Cup match<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nElijah Just\u2019s 2-goal World Cup breakthrough lifts New Zealand to gritty draw with Iran - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=3948\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elijah Just\u2019s 2-goal World Cup breakthrough lifts New Zealand to gritty draw with Iran - 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