New Zealand’s Elia Joost Anticipates Challenging Clash with Egypt

Elia Joost, a player for the New Zealand national team, revealed that he watched Egypt’s match against Belgium during the opening of the 2026 World Cup. This comes ahead of their highly anticipated encounter in the second round of the group stage.

In a television interview, Joost stated, “I believe that Egypt has exceptional players and performed strongly against Belgium. The upcoming match against them will be extremely tough.”.

This statement follows a 2-2 draw between New Zealand and Iran earlier today at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles, as part of the first round of Group G, which also includes Egypt and Belgium.

As a result of this draw, each team earned one point, leaving all teams in Group G level on points after Egypt’s own 1-1 draw with Belgium in the group’s opening match.

Joost’s comments heighten the anticipation for the upcoming showdown between New Zealand and Egypt, which is expected to be crucial for both teams’ hopes of advancing to the next round.

In today’s match, New Zealand took an early lead when Joost scored in the seventh minute. However, Ramin Rezaeian equalized for Iran in the 32nd minute.

Before halftime, Iran had a second goal disallowed for offside, leaving the first half tied at 1-1.

In the second half, Joost scored his second goal and New Zealand’s second in the 55th minute. Yet again, Iran responded with an equalizer from Mohammad Mohammadi in the 64th minute, concluding the match with a final score of 2-2.