INGLEWOOD
New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley praised his players for a battling performance in a 2-2 draw with Iran despite coming tantalisingly close to a first-ever World Cup win, saying they showed the kind of quality needed to clear that hurdle. Iran had to twice come from behind to earn a draw in their opening World Cup match, an entertaining Group G encounter that featured a brace from New Zealand’s Elijah Just. That may be our best performance ever, or since I’ve been involved with the All Whites, which is a long time, Bazeley said. Overall, I thought it was a really strong performance and I think we showed the world who we are and who our players are.