New Zealand head into their next World Cup warm-up reeling from a 4-0 loss to Haiti. Amid the defensive setback, the spotlight has shifted to defender Tim Payne, whose follower count has surged after an influencer highlighted him ahead of the tournament, offering a rare positive note. The All Whites now need to tighten up at the back and turn the momentum in their favour to secure a convincing performance in the upcoming fixture.
New Zealand head to Iran in Group G, still winless in their last six away matches as the favourites have won three of their last four home games. New Zealand are winless in their last six away matches, scoring an average of 0.33 goals per game away from home, and Darren Bazeley's side can't be relied on to sit back and try to stay in the game with a deep defense. They will aim to give Iran a headache with their physical presence and high-tempo approach, and will need to push forward and put men behind the ball in the hope of catching Iran on the break. They will look to their other physical strikers and try to create chances through quick, physical second balls or aerial set plays, and will bring energy to this game while being desperate to keep the momentum of a win in a tough group. Darren Bazeley has not been able to stop the team's road woes in three games, and New Zealand won 4-1 at home to Chile but were thrashed 4-0 by Haiti in Haiti two days earlier.
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