More than just happy to be here, New Zealand hunts first-ever knockout run

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — New Zealand might have arrived at this World Cup just happy to be here again. But earning a point in the opener against Iran has opened the door to a run the All Whites have never made.

“We can’t let the occasion get too big,” head coach Darren Bazeley said. “It’s about us winning a game of football.”

The All Whites enter Sunday’s match against No. 29 Egypt with a chance to move out of the group stage for the first time in their World Cup history. For a nation ranked No. 82, fourth lowest in this year’s expanded 48‑team format, simply getting here for the first time since 2010 might have been enough.

But now, New Zealand has given itself a chance.

“Putting ourselves in such a great position – like this opportunity to create history – we know how good we can be,” midfielder Ben Old said. “It’s just a really exciting moment to be in.”

New Zealand’s presence in this tournament is tied directly to the expanded field. The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) earned its first-ever automatic berth, and the All Whites claimed it through a three‑step qualifying process that concluded with a 3–0 win over No. 151 New Caledonia.

No. 25 Australia, once the region’s powerhouse, left for the Asian Football Confederation in 2006 in search of stronger competition and a clearer route to the World Cup. Its departure left New Zealand as the dominant team in a confederation where the next‑highest‑ranked team is New Caledonia.

That imbalance is why region matters so much. FIFA allocates its 48 places unevenly.

“It’s not something for us to be scared about,” Bazeley said. “If we’re going to win a World Cup, we have to play against top teams and top players and perform well.”

Larger confederations tend to get more representation across the board. UEFA, for example, gets 16 slots. OFC is granted just one ticket.

In some regions, strong teams miss out entirely. In fact, 17 of FIFA’s 48 top-ranked teams did not qualify this year. Denmark, ranked No. 20, missed this tournament out of UEFA, and No. 14 Italy has missed three straight. If World Cup qualifying was based simply on ranking, No. 48 Venezuela would be the last team in. It is the only team to never qualify out of CONMEBOL, which is granted six automatic berths.

Qualifying often depends heavily on geography rather than global standing.

New Zealand knows its region cannot sharpen it. So it schedules friendlies against higher‑ranked opponents, a strategy that seemingly paid off in the opener in the All Whites’ 2-2 draw against No. 22 Iran.

Midfielder Elijah Just scored both goals Monday, matching New Zealand’s total goal output in each of its previous World Cup appearances in 1982 and 2010. With two group matches left, New Zealand can break its single‑tournament scoring record and chase its first‑ever World Cup win.

“We’re always used to being the underdogs,” Old said. “We’re not afraid to play any of these teams.”

Drew Renner is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

New Zealand's 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)

New Zealand's Nando Pijnaker works out during a training session on the eve of the team's FIFA World Cup soccer match against Egypt, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New Zealand players work out during a training session on the eve of the team's World Cup soccer match against Egypt, Saturday, June 20, 2026, in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

New Zealand head coach Darren Bazeley listens to a question during a press conference on the eve of the team's World Cup soccer match against Egypt, Saturday, June 20, 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

ZURICH (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrived Sunday in Switzerland to help formally launch negotiations with Iranian leaders over curbing Tehran’s nuclear program and building out the fragile interim deal to end the war in Iran.

The framework was signed last week, and now top U.S. and Iran negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.

Yet the first days of that two-month period were complicated by the heavy exchange of fire in Lebanon between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah — and by the subsequent announcement by Iran’s military that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway that transits a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas.

Vance had originally been slated to be on the ground at the picturesque Bürgenstock resort near Lucerne on Friday, but his departure from the United States was delayed after fighting escalated in Lebanon and Iranian officials canceled plans to attend the talks.

U.S. Central Command disputed Iran’s claim that it had once again shuttered the strait and said U.S. forces continued to monitor the situation to ensure traffic continues to flow through the waterway. Vance has said that millions of barrels of oil have moved through the strait in recent days.

Vance departed the U.S. just after Iranian state TV said Iran’s negotiators had arrived in Switzerland. Tehran’s negotiators include parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, along with central bank and oil officials.

The U.S. vice president joins special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, who have already been on the ground to begin sifting through the technical details of the nuclear talks.

The talks between U.S. and Iran will also include Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, as well as Qatari mediators.

While Vance said he planned to be in Switzerland for just “a day or two,” leaving much of the detailed negotiations to be spearheaded by Witkoff and Kushner, his role in the talks has heightened the scrutiny of the vice president at a time when he’s actively considering a 2028 presidential campaign.

Trump and Vance have come under searing criticism from parts of their own party for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to a nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration that Trump and the GOP have insisted did nothing to actually terminate Iran’s nuclear program.

The agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. It also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in U.S. strikes last summer.

The agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without a charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat on Saturday to levy U.S. tolls on the strait if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting in a social media post that the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”

Further complicating matters, neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal between the U.S. and Iran, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the initial days after the agreement between the U.S. and Iran killed 47 people in Lebanon, as well as four Israeli soldiers.

Kim reported from Washington.

Air Force Two, with Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance on board, departs Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)

Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)