- NFL
- NBA
- MLB
- NHL
- World Cup
- Betting
- SN 140
- Archive
- NFL
- NBA
- MLB
- NHL
- Soccer
- NCAAF
- NCAAMB
- NCAAWB
- WNBA
- Boxing
- MMA
- WWE
- F1
- NASCAR
- Golf
- Tennis
- College
- High School
- Darts
- Horse Racing
- Olympics
- More Sports
- Fantasy
- Betting
- Prediction Markets
- Watch
- The Scene
- Tickets
- Stadium Guides
- United States [English]
- Argentina
- Australia
- Brasil
- Canada
- India
- 日本
- México
- 대한민국
- España
- ไทย
- United Kingdom
- United States [Español]
- Việt Nam
- About Us
- Careers
- Privacy Preferences
- Terms of Use
- Privacy Policy
- Cookie Policy
For New Zealand to overcome the doubters at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, someone needed to step up to the plate.
Elijah Just is apparently the guy who wants to prove New Zealand belongs.
Just opened the scoring for New Zealand in the seventh minute on Monday night against Iran.
Then early in the second half, Just scored a second goal.
New Zealand's well-known goal scorer is Chris Wood, but on this night, Just did the finishing.
MORE: Cape Verde pulls off one of craziest results in World Cup history
Who is Elijah Just?
Just is a 26-year old winger representing New Zealand at the 2026 World Cup.
He's just 5-foot-9 but quick.
He began his club career in New Zealand with Western Suburbs and then Eastern Suburbs.
From there, he went to the Danish second division to play for Helsingor.
He moved up to the first division in Denmark to play for Horsens.
He played a loan season with SKN St. Polten in Austria.
MORE: New Zealand's Tim Payne is an unlikely viral hero
Before the 2025-26 season, he moved to Motherwell in Scotland, and he scored seven goals in his first season.
Just was making his 45th appearance with New Zealand on Monday night, and the two goals gave him 11 in his international career.
It's a night he'll never forget.
More FIFA World Cup news:
- Japan fans clean up the stadium after World Cup games
- Spain makes a massive Lamine Yamal mistake
- Ref cams are making quite the fashion statement
- Lawrence, Kansas has fallen in love with the Algerian national team
- Cyle Larin proves all the cliches true for Canada
Billy Heyen
Billy Heyen is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim's basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive high school sports coverage at the Sandusky Register and Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men's national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. When people ask if he's seen a movie, the answer is usually "No, I was probably watching sports." Even away from sports, his main hobby is running (much slower than any athlete in these pages).
Source: Sporting News
