Heading into this international window, the All Whites had a rare opportunity. They’d managed to bag a 1-1 draw against the USA in their previous match and now they had two immensely winnable fixtures on the calendar. The first was a World Cup qualifiers against Tahiti. The second was a home game against Malaysia. Wins tend not to be very common for Aotearoa football teams, at least not outside their own confederation, with the last such victory for the All Whites coming against China in March 2023 (which was also the last time that they played in New Zealand prior to the Malaysia date).

Darren Bazeley picked a strong squad. Nothing else to it. Just had to go out there and get a couple victories... and that they did. Two wins from two, scoring seven goal and conceding zero. The Tahiti game came with the usual away-in-Oceania frustrations while it took more than half the game to figure out how to break down Malaysia. But on both occasions they stayed patient and found a way. Log ‘em in the history books. Mission accomplished.

All Whites 3-0 Tahiti

The first match marked the dawn of 2026 World Cup qualifying – where Oceania will have an automatic entry for the first time ever (and don’t overlook the OFC runner-up getting an intercontinental playoff either... there’s more on the line for the rest of the nations than ever before, not just expected winners New Zealand). Despite Tahiti being the opponents, the game was held in Vanuatu at the same venue these two teams had met at a few months earlier in a Nations Cup semi-final where Aotearoa won 5-0 with doubles for Ben Waine and Kosta Barbarouses. This was a bulkier AWs squad than that one, though a one-off game always throws up different challenges.

Darren Bazeley tends not to be a big one for rotation so he picked his most powerful available eleven. Max Crocombe in goal. Back four of Tim Payne, Tyler Bindon, Nando Pijnaker, and Liberato Cacace. Alex Rufer was the holding midfielder with Marko Stamenic and Matthew Garbett a little further ahead. Elijah Just on the right win, Ben Old on the left wing. Chris Wood up topskees. Can’t argue with it... and there wasn’t even ninety seconds on the clock when Eli Just whipped in a beauty of a finish to give New Zealand the lead. Lovely goal that was very reminiscent of the one he scored for SKN St Pölten prior to the international window. He knows his spots, that man.

But if you thought that was going to mean floodgates then you thought wrong. Tahiti sat very deep in a 5-4-1 formation with not even a hint of a press about them. In fact, it was the opposite: they basically ran away when the All Whites had the ball, refusing to engage them defensively until well within their own half. There were times when the AWs took a short goal kick and the defenders could have simply walked to halfway without encountering so much as an opponent’s shadow, let alone a boot.

Tahiti did what they needed to do and they did it very well. The proof is in the pudding because it took over an hour before the kiwis could score again. When the field is as condensed and crowded as that, you’ve gotta do something funky to break it up. Maybe some sizzling 1v1 stuff. Quick short passing with movement off the ball. Whatever. But the pitch at Freshwater Stadium was too lumpy for such endeavours – an easy tell with those things is when the centre-backs are passing the ball to each other under no pressure and it’s bobbling all over the place. That’s when you know it’s the pitch not the technique. The better the player, the better they can cope... but realistically there just wasn’t really much of an alternative for the All Whites to the excessive crossing strategy they fell into. Let’s not overlook the afternoon kickoff in the Islands either, requiring a couple of cooling breaks.

Unfortunately, they sucked at the crossing. So many wonky deliveries... plus they were playing with only one striker up front and even if that guy is Chris Wood you’re still limiting your options there. Darren Bazeley spoke afterwards about trying to change up the angles with those crosses by getting the centre-backs stepping up. Also about trying to make the second phase stuff a priority. Those were good adjustments. However, the best adjustment he made was the ten-minute spell when he had Chris Wood and Ben Waine both on the pitch at the same time, during which Woodsy got the goal that broke the impasse and there ya go. Waine-o eventually got one of his own and the lads emerged with what they needed: three points from game one of World Cup qualifying. Vanuatu beat Samoa 4-1 in the other game in this group. NZ will play both those nations in the November window. Both are home games.

So yeah not the prettiest of games. Not the most aesthetic of matches. Mitigating factors prevented it from being anything other than what it was so the fellas basically just had to get in there and get out with the result, forget about the rest of it. Sure there were things to complain about but as soon as the Malaysia game kicked off the Tahiti one was going to be lost to the vast depths of memory, don’t even worry about it. We move on.

All Whites 4-0 Malaysia

Which brings us to Monday evening at North Harbour Stadium... a game that somehow I found myself in the commentary box for. Hopefully that went alright, I had fun with it. Got to spit a few stats and celebrate a few goals so that was cool. And shout out to the ultra-pro that is Glen Larmer. But getting back on topic, this was a home crowd with a pretty decent 8000+ folks turning up on a chilly weeknight to support the lads. It might not have been anything more than a one-off friendly but people remember the home games so this was a chance to implant a few ideas in people’s heads. Like the idea that this team is capable of scoring goals. Like the idea that this team can beat non-Oceania opponents.

And Malaysia were no chumps. They had a poor Asian Cup earlier this year but they did draw 3-3 with South Korea in amongst, while their most recent window saw them gain home victories against the Philippines and Indonesia. They’ve got a squad with good experience, one which includes plenty of heritage and naturalised players but even the heritage dudes have all moved to the Malaysian league so there’s cohesion there. A game that the All Whites should have expected to win, but one for which they still needed to turn up with a good performance to make it happen.

Seven of the eleven players from the Tahiti game backed up, the differences being: Alex Paulsen earning his second cap as goalie, Michael Boxall getting his 52nd cap at centre-back (with Tyler Bindon switching from right side to left side), Storm Roux making his first All Whites start since November 2019, and Ben Waine getting a go ahead of Chris Wood. Liberato Cacace captained in Wood’s absence same as he did at the Nations Cup. Also there was a slight tweak in the shape with Elijah Just playing centrally and Matt Garbett out wide (but with licence to roam as always) – the one six, two eights midfield is more of an OFC variation. The two eights and a ten midfield is more what we see against everyone else.

That’s a quality side and, on a much silkier surface (made slicker by a bit of rainfall around kickoff time), they very quickly took control of matters by creating a number of decent scoring chances. Decent but not great, if we’re being honest. Malaysia defended courageously, getting bodies behind the ball... and the All Whites were a little short of ideas for how to work around them. There was a clear priority to get the fullbacks as high as they could, using that width and thus allowing the wingers to go roaming for the ball. Annoyingly, they didn’t always use those fullbacks well enough. Storm Roux spent a lot of time waving his arm like he was spelling his name in semaphore... and not seeing nearly enough ball.

The AWs are always skewed towards the left thanks to Cacace’s presence (and the usual right wingers, Garbett and Just, tend not to stay out there), but quicker and more decisive ball-movement might have done the trick. Add in some finishing that left a bit to be desired, and more wasteful crossing (particularly from some of those corner kicks) and we had a rather pesky goalless game heading into the sheds for HT.

But the blessings fell down in the second stanza. Praise be. Nothing really changed, the All Whites merely stayed patient and then once the first goal went in – Elijah Just bundling home a Cacace cross in the 54th minute – the story completely changed. Malaysia kinda crumbled and the NZers showed a level of ruthlessness that bordered on inhospitable but which was great to see from a team that doesn’t have much of a track record of ruthlessness.

Matt Garbett side-footed in another Cacace assist, picking his spot for his fourth international goal. Then Chris Wood came on and showed what had been missing with some fine back-post positioning for a Kosta Barbarouses cross after Just had threaded a beauty of a through ball for him down the right. Then, right at the end, Logan Rogerson thumped a banger off the crossbar for 4-0. Kosta Barbarouses set that one up too (technically speaking, he may not have gotten the assist for the Wood goal because the keeper did palm at the ball – not that anyone cares about assist counts in international friendlies so no dramas).

A 4-0 victory thus marked Darren Bazeley’s second win against non-OFC opposition. We play a lot of teams that are significantly higher-ranked than us, so gotta make hay while the sun shines to balance out the records. That record now reads: 12 games with 2 wins, 5 draws, 5 losses... with 10 goals scored and 16 goals conceded. Still needs some work but it’s much better than it was a week ago. And there’s a cheeky winning streak brewing in home games too.

Much tougher tasks lie ahead (although not in November where home games against Vanuatu and Samoa should probably serve up an even bigger aggregate) but they needn’t all be tough tasks. We’re allowed to host a lower-ranked side from time to time and let the home fans go home happy having seen some good goals and a good performance. Most importantly a good result. Three ticks and everyone’s smiling. Sweet as.

Thoughts & Ideas

Already mentioned the non-Oceania stats but the OFC figures are worth a go as well. The win against Tahiti means that Darren Bazeley has now won all five matches in charge with 18 goals scored and zero conceded. All up the All Whites have reached 26-games undefeated in the confederation going back to the Horror in Honiara (2012). It’s 10 wins in a row post-Anthony Hudson (who had three draws against OFC sides) with 36 goals scored and one conceded... the one conceded came in the biggest win of all (7-1 vs Papua New Guinea in March 2022).

Storm Roux had played twice in the previous seven years prior to this window. Two appearances here means he no longer has as many All Whites caps as A-League championships during the past seven years. He did pretty well out on the right too, even if he should have seen more ball. Tim Payne remains the clear first choice in that position but we can now add Roux to the list of alternatives who have started games in that position since Bazeley took over: Callan Elliot, Bill Tuiloma, Niko Kirwan, Dane Ingham, Tyler Bindon, Sam Sutton, and Storm Roux is the full list. Would not be shocked if Dalton Wilkins finds his way on there at some stage either.

On the left it seems like Sam Sutton is fairly well established as the main backup to Cacace, though a fit Dalton Wilkins would threaten that. James McGarry’s getting the Bill Tuiloma treatment at his club so he’s not in the frame right now... Francis de Vries and Callan Elliot could re-emerge with good Auckland FC form.

In goal, Max Crocombe has started 9 of the past 11 matches with Alex Paulsen getting the other two starts. Oli Sail’s last cap was the 4-1 loss to Sweden in June 2023 though he’s been in each of the last three squads. There’s a clear one-two-three hierarchy in the goalkeeping department at the moment. Wonder what it’d take for someone outside that trio to tip things up (Kees Sims got another start in the Swedish top tier last week, he’s gotta be close).

Elijah Just and Chris Wood scored in both games. That’s normal for The Woodsman – although actually he’d only scored once in his previous 11 caps, that goal being a penalty against DR Congo – but for Eli Just it doubles his international goal tally. He scored one from the right and one from the middle. Such a clever, versatile player who was given a role that allowed him to drift around and link up, creating overloads, and it worked out beautifully. Ideally he’d be playing at a higher level than Austrian second tier but it does look like he’ll get to be a key player for St Pölten and if he’s scoring and creating goals and playing with confidence then that’s good enough. He’ll probably see this particular role, the central one we saw vs Malaysia, disappear whenever Sarpreet Singh is available... but Singh has only played five of the last 29 matches so it’s crucial to have depth.

This was the biggest All Whites victory against a non-Oceania nation since a 5-1 win against Malaysia (them again) way back in 1999. Goals scored that day by Mark Elrick (2), Kris Bouckenooghe, Paul Urlovic, and Gavin Wilkinson. There are several other instances of 4+ winning margins, mostly against South Asian teams in previous incarnations of World Cup qualifying. But very few of the current squad were alive for those.

Kosta Barbarouses is now level with Vaughan Coveny on 64 caps, putting him tied for fourth all-time. Simon Elliott got to 69 caps, Chris Wood is on the prowl with 78 caps, and Ivan Vicelich still holds the record with 88 caps. Didn’t see any Tommy Smith in this window – he didn’t appear to be kitted up for the Malaysia fixture. Michael Boxall did get to 52, while Tim Payne looks like he’ll be the next one to reach the half-century after getting number 41 against Malaysia. Meanwhile, here are the top scorers for active players (ie those who’ve featured under Bazeley so far)...

Top Active All Whites Goal Scorers

1. Chris Wood – 36 goals (78 caps)

2. Ben Waine – 7 (20)

3. Kosta Barbarouses – 7 (64)

4. Marco Rojas – 5 (46)

5. Matthew Garbett – 4 (26)

6. Elijah Just – 4 (30)

7. Bill Tuiloma – 4 (42)

Speaking of Smithy, there’s the significant matter of the A-League season beginning this weekend. Smith was one of several Auckland FC players involved here including Logan Rogerson (who boosted his stocks with a wonderful goal). Cam Howieson added another cap, as did Nando Pijnaker and Alex Paulsen. The latter two will surely start... the rest of them we’ll have to see because they’ve got five imports and a few classy Aussie options so the more inexperienced kiwis will need to earn their way in (and Hiroki Sakai getting the captaincy ahead of Tommy Smith tells you that Smithy’s not first eleven). Michael Woud, Joey Champness, Max Mata, Jesse Randall, Callan Elliot, and Francis de Vries have also been capped internationally... though it does say something that there are more NZ internationals at the club who didn’t get selected for this squad than those who did.

As for the Wellington Phoenix, they can claim all the assists against Malaysia thanks to Cacace and Barbarouses, while Alex Rufer and Sam Sutton also set up goals against Tahiti. Matt Garbett did set up Ben Waine’s goal in that match but the Nix still have the Waine connection instead. Rogerson played for them once upon a time as well. The Nix will have Barbarouses, Rufer, Payne, and Sutton in key roles this season. Plus the next wave of academy dudes. No dramas there.

Mentioned it earlier but credit to Tyler Bindon for playing both sides of central defence across the two games. He’s usually LCB for Reading, and that’s where he played alongside Boxall against Malaysia (and alongside Finn Surman at the Nations Cup and Olympics), but when the left-footed Nando Pijnaker started against Tahiti, Bindon simply slid to the other side. He’s right-footed himself but classy with both so no worries. Got to see a few examples of his excellent long switch in these games too – something he shares with Tommy Smith and Nando Pijnaker (might have seen more if it, but the trend was more for the CBs to get the ball to Marko Stamenic and let him take the reins). Bindon now has 12 caps and he’s still a teenager.

With two more starts here, Liberato Cacace has now started 20 of the past 21 All Whites fixtures. The only one he missed was the Nations Cup game for which he was suspended (and he returned to win the Golden Ball at that tournament). There’s nobody else even close across the same span – mostly because of Nations Cup absentees. Chris Wood has a known reputation for going out of his way to represent his nation but we’re at the stage where actually Cacace is the one who most deserves that reputation. Woodsy is usually there but Cacace is always there.

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