INGLEWOOD, California, June ⁠14 (Reuters) - New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley brushed aside the political backdrop to his ⁠side's World Cup opener against Iran on Monday, saying his players were focused ‌solely on football despite heightened attention surrounding the match.

The Group G clash in Los Angeles comes after months of conflict involving Iran and a day after Washington and Tehran announced a framework agreement for a deal ​to end their war.

Asked about the wider significance of the ⁠fixture, Bazeley insisted New Zealand had ⁠prepared as they would for any other match.

"To be honest, we've treated it as a ⁠normal ‌game," he told reporters on Sunday.

"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."

Captain Chris Wood, New Zealand's all-time top scorer, ⁠echoed his coach's ​view.

"All we've been focused on is football," said the striker. "Once you go through the white lines, nothing else matters."

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.

But Bazeley said his players were relishing the prospect of a big atmosphere.

"All the players prefer playing in big crowds and ⁠big atmospheres. It's what we came to the World Cup for," he said.

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.

"We've waited a long time to be here," ​he said. "We're excited to get going."

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.

"It's exciting that mostly all the ​games have been quite tight and quite close, and everybody's had a chance to win," he said. "That gives us confidence."

(Reporting by Hatem MaherEditing by Christian Radnedge)