Politics no distraction for All Whites as they prepare to face Iran

[p]The Group G clash in Los Angeles ‌comes after months of conflict involving [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iran/xrRx85iA/"]Iran[/a] and a ‌day after Washington and Tehran announced a framework agreement for a ‌deal to end their war.[/p][p]Asked about the wider significance of ‌the fixture, Bazeley insisted [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/new-zealand/rLctHkpU/"]New Zealand[/a] had prepared as they would for any other match.[/p][p]"[b]To be honest, we've treated it as a ‌normal game,[/b]" he told reporters on Sunday.[/p][p]"[b]We prepare ⁠the same for every ‌international game that we play, and we've done nothing different for this ​game. For us, it's a big game because it's a World Cup game, and we want to ​do well here at the World Cup[/b]."[/p][embed guid="5ed4cded-1033-4041-bf2e-58ab6769f7e3" url="https://x.com/NZ_Football/status/2066320419687428267" social-type="twitter" /][p]Captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wood-chris/Cp7L7Gro/"]Chris Wood[/a], New Zealand's all-time top scorer, echoed his coach's view.[/p][p]"[b]All we've been ⁠focused on is football,[/b]" ​said the striker. "[b]Once you go through the white lines, nothing else matters.[/b]"[/p][p]The match is expected to draw a large Iranian diaspora crowd in Los Angeles, although it remains unclear how much ‌support the national team itself will receive from a fan base divided by politics.[/p][p]But Bazeley said his players were relishing the prospect of a big atmosphere.[/p][p]"A[b]ll the players prefer playing in big crowds and big atmospheres. It's what we came to the World Cup for,[/b]" he said.[/p][embed guid="0036bf40-2eb1-4770-9b4a-1fe43c673698" url="https://x.com/NZ_Football/status/2066272367668797829" social-type="twitter" /][p]The fixture marks New Zealand's return to the World Cup after a 16-year absence, and Bazeley said his squad had spent years preparing for ‌the occasion.[/p][p]"[b]We've waited a long time to be here[/b]," he ​said. "[b]We're excited to get going.[/b]"[/p][p]New Zealand face an Iran ‌side ranked 20th in the world and unbeaten through Asian qualifying, but Wood said the tournament had already shown there was little separating many of the competing nations.[/p][p]"[b]It's exciting that mostly all the games have been quite ⁠tight and quite close, and ⁠everybody's had a chance ‌to win,[/b]" he said. "[b]That gives us confidence.[/b]"[/p]