Tim Payne’s 50 best moments from New Zealand vs Iran, ranked

The All Whites drew 2-2 with Iran in their opening match at the 2026 Fifa World Cup. Here’s what New Zealand’s starting right back did during his 77 minutes on the field.

The concourse at SoFi stadium was hectic before New Zealand’s opening Fifa World Cup match against Iran. TVNZ’s Logan Church tried to speak with the studio back in Auckland, but kept being overwhelmed by dancing and screaming fans.

He hurriedly threw to a pre-recorded interview. Earlier, Church met an American fan outside the gate wearing a “No Payne, No Gain” T-shirt. “I hadn’t heard of Tim Payne until like a week ago to be honest,” the fan said, an entirely reasonable thing to say about a defender from the 85th-ranked team in the world. “When we found out about Tim Payne and the whole movement we decided to support Tim Payne and New Zealand,” he finished. As the clip ended, the feed cut back to Church as a bikini-clad fan tried to twerk on him.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw, with Elijah Just scoring both New Zealand goals, making him the most prolific World Cup goalscorer in All Whites history (Hannah Wilkinson has three World Cup goals for the Football Ferns). It was both a great and slightly disappointing result for the All Whites, who looked closer than they ever have to securing their first World Cup victory.

But for millions of fans who tuned in to the game there was only one name on their minds: football’s newest global superstar. So, here’s everything Tim Payne did in his World Cup debut, ranked from worst to best.

50. High arcing cross, 57th minute. Payne has plenty of time to aim a high pass towards Chris Wood, who is standing in the box, but makes a poor connection and the ball flies out of bounds. It’s easily Payne’s worst moment of the game and, conveniently for the structure of this article, the commentators use it as an opportunity for exposition.

“Too much on that from Tim Payne, who is involved with an Argentine influencer in his socials. A very well known Argentine influencer identified him as supposedly the least known player at this World Cup,” says commentator Chris Sutton. “He now has more than 4 million followers”. [As of publication, Payne’s Instagram account is up to 5.8m followers. ]

“I think he’s lost one follower in Chris Wood after that cross,” jibes fellow commentator Alistair Bruce-Ball.

49. Foul, 59th minute. The referee has a wee talk to him, but there’s no disciplinary action. Still, the play stopped a quick break and helped the All Whites recover.

48. Out of bounds, 3rd minute. Payne, mostly unmarked, attempts to gather the ball but it slips into touch. He’s shown on the big screen and the crowd roars.

47. Interception, 63rd minute. Payne briefly gets a foot to a loose ball and chips it towards Sarpreet Singh but it goes out.

46 . Gets slide tackled, 3rd minute. The ball goes out of bounds, New Zealand retains possession. Payne looks unfazed.

45. Loose defence, 6th minute. Payne finds himself in a one-on-one with Iranian striker Aria Yousefi. He doesn’t quite close enough ground, allowing Yousefi to get a decent shot off, but it is saved by goalie Max Crocombe.

44 . Protects the ball as it goes out of play, 23rd minute. Everyone stops to admire Payne’s excellent body control (and for the first hydration break).

43. Loses possession, 53rd minute. He has an opportunity to cross the ball into the box against a stagnant defence, but takes one too many dribbles and the ball is poked away.

42. Watches Iran score a goal, 32nd minute. Ramin Rezaeian slips one past Crocombe on the left. Payne was focused on the right sight. And to his credit, no one would have dared challenge that side.

41. In-air collision, 16th minute. Payne challenges for a high ball and ends up on the ground. He doesn’t win the header, but shows outstanding hustle.

40 . Runs into open space, 40th minute. A quick one-two with a team mate and he is off, belting down the wing looking for a go-ahead pass. It never comes.

39 . Holds a child’s hand, pre-match. Cute.

38. Calls an out of bounds, 77th minute. His arm goes up before the referee has even processed it. Elite instincts.

37. Throw in, 62nd minute. A good heave down the sideline but it goes out off the first touch.

36. Quick touch, 55th minute. Leads to a clearance kick which takes pressure off the New Zealand defence.

35. Short pass, 35th minute. Clean, crisp, direct.

34. Subbed off, 77th minute. He shares a strong handshake with each member of the coaching staff.

33 . Sings the national anthem. His lips move but only barely.

32. Recovers ball, 36th minute. Regains possession after it was poked off an Iranian foot. Payne notches a short pass into space and lets New Zealand regather.

31. Throw in, 28th minute. An enormous heave towards Chris Wood, who is unable to control it. Not Payne’s fault.

30. Boomfa, 20th minute. Payne smashes into another player as they challenge a ball in the air. It’s maybe a bit of a shove from Payne, but it’s enough to disrupt a dangero…