They weren’t even going to turn up originally. The All Whites had planned to use the June international window for some foreign friendlies instead but then the lure of multiplied FIFA rankings points became too much. For logical reasons too: the expanded World Cup is likely to see Aotearoa qualify and with their current ranking in the triple-figures that’d probably leave them as the worst seed in their group. Slide up a few dozen spots and maybe they can squeeze into the third seed and leave themselves a potentially winnable game. The format of the World Cup is still up in the air but it made sense to try and fix that ranking.

Plus is always makes sense to take these rare opportunities to stay in tune with the confederation. Get some barefeet on the grass, catch some rays, score a few goals, and appreciate the love of the game that exists all over our big blue planet. The timing of the tournament meant that many of the first string squad members weren’t summoned, instead Darren Bazeley picked a squad with a large amount of U23s crossover ahead of the Olympic Games. Still a good enough squad to do what needed doing at the 2024 Oceania Nations Cup though, therefore here’s the story of how they did it.

GAME ONE vs SOLOMON ISLANDS

The All Whites’ OFC Nations Cup began with a 3-0 win over the Solomon Islands. A comfortable victory which ended a seven-game winless streak for the AWs, who scored as many goals in this match as they had in those seven games combined. Not quite equivalent opposition... although the Solomon Islands were the beaten finalists in World Cup qualifying back in March 2022. Of the eleven players who started for NZ that day, only Tim Payne was there 27 months later for this match – reflecting those differing intentions from the Aotearoa side that we’re already well aware of.

Depth squad or not, a dozen minutes into this match and Ben Waine had already scored twice. The kiwis were looking ruthless, 2-0 up with a long way still to go. Yet skip through to the final whistle and they’d settled for a 3-0 result. Kosta Barbarouses did add another in first-half stoppage time to mark his first game as All Whites captain – his first international goal since September 2017... the previous one also coming against the Solomon Islands. But aside from that there weren’t even very many chances. It was a dull game in which the Solomons seemed to have the edge on the intensity scales. In fact they almost spoiled the NZ clean sheet at the end when Raphael Lea’i smacked the post.

Very reserved, very conservative from the All Whites. Even their formation felt negative with a 4-2-3-1 shape that flipped into a very static 4-4-1-1 defensive set, not offering much room for transitional attacks (although Ben Waine’s hold-up play has definitely improved after a season and a half in England). Afterwards Darren Bazeley spoke about: “a pretty professional performance, we got the job done reasonably early and managed the game pretty well in the second half”. Not exactly overflowing with ambition there, right?

But there are reasons why that was the case:

This understrength All Whites squad was very youthful, with an extraordinary six debutants taking the pitch during this match (including two from the start). While almost all of them will have experienced some form of Oceania football before, the combinations were clearly very raw.

This also was the first game of the tournament for the All Whites and there does tend to be a ramping-up process at these things. It takes awhile to adjust to the conditions and the style of play. The Football Ferns did their Olympic qualifiers earlier in the year and got noticeably better with each subsequent game. Auckland City showed a similar progression in their Champions League exploits recently. In contrast, the Solomon Islands had already played a hugely competitive match against Vanuatu (which they lost 1-0) just a few days earlier.

The pitch was hard and bumpy and you could see that affecting the passing game that the kiwis were trying to play. Ben Old in particular, he wanted to dribble but he just couldn’t trust the bobble. A technical advantage doesn’t mean much on an inconsistent wicket... which only got worse as the tournament went along.

There were three more games to follow this and Bazeley only picked a squad of 21 players (three of whom are goalies) so preserving energy had to be a factor as well. Hence the comments about managing the game in the second half. No point blowing a fuse when there’s a bigger picture in mind. Liberato Cacace and Tommy Smith were unavailable for game one which added to that squeeze – Cacace suspended from his scandalous red card against Tunisia and Smithy serving groomsman duties at Chris Wood’s wedding.

So, yeah, not a very enjoyable match beyond that quick start... but one which will still go into the history books for providing the debuts of: Alex Paulsen, Sam Sutton, Jesse Randall, Oskar van Hattum, Lukas Kelly-Heald, and Fin Conchie. A couple of those were overdue, a couple of those are ahead of schedule. Football is all about those convenient windows of opportunity so you take ‘em as they come.

All Whites 3-0 Solomon Islands

Starting Line-Up: Paulsen | Payne, Surman, Bindon, Sutton | Rufer, Howieson | Just, Barbarouses, Old | Waine

Subs Used: Randall (Old 63’), Mata (Waine 63’), Van Hattum (Just 76’), Kelly-Heald (Payne 76’), Conchie (Howieson 82’)

Goals (Assists)

6’ Waine (Just)

11’ Waine (Payne)

45+3’ Barbarouses

GAME TWO vs VANUATU

Sure enough, the second game was a lot better. Liberato Cacace returned from suspension to captain the side while Max Crocombe swapped into the gloves meaning that the two starting debutants from game one went back to the bench. There was also a change up top with Max Mata predictably rotating for Ben Waine, plus don’t overlook a subtle switch in positions with Elijah Just sliding into the central attacking midfielder role with Kosta Barbarouses moving out to the wing (after being the other way around in game one, with Kosta operating as a second striker).

It was a slow start with lots of passing at the back and minimal forward progression against a well-stacked Vanuatu formation. Until, in the tenth minute, Cacace and Just linked beautifully at the byline on the left and Just chipped a cross over to Max Mata who was always going to win that header at the back post. His first international goal arriving in his 11th appearance. He’s up and running. Not only that but he also got a taste for dealing with one of the A-League’s best defenders in Brian Kaltack, whom he’ll probably come up against for Auckland FC next season.

Moving Eli Just to the middle was a clever idea from the brains trust. Just took a free licence to roam from side to side and create overloads. He wanted the ball at his feet and he wanted to play an incisive pass when it got there. Already highlighted a few reasons why things weren’t clicking in game one... another reason may have been the lack of dynamism in a Rufer/Howieson partnership. Kinda got two Brets there and no Jemaine. Putting Just ahead of them made things look much smoother and EJ would get plenty more reward to go with his early assist.

The second goal arrived on 27’ after Ben Old’s initial shot was parried away. Max Mata hunted down the rebound and smacked it back across the six yard box where it struck Kaltack and staggered in for an own goal. It was almost three soon afterwards but Barbarouses had a goal strangely disallowed for an offside that was never made clear (although it may not have crossed the line anyway). No VAR at this event, of course. Mata also hit the crossbar from close range, then he lifted one over the top in first half stoppage time. Only 2-0 at the break but this time there were proper chances throughout.

Alex Greive replaced Mata for the last half hour to give him his first involvement of the ONC. Surman and Bindon were also given a break with twenty to go, with Tommy Smith and Lukas Kelly-Heald jumping in. Meanwhile Elijah Just scored a good goal on 63’ with a shot from distance that probably should have been saved except for a nasty bounce just in front of the keeper. Just also then set up Ben Old for a goal in the 77th minute. Call that a 4-0 win for the NZers. Elijah Just was a deserved man of the match after his goal and two assists. Alex Rufer was the only player to go the distance in both matches.

All Whites 4-0 Vanuatu

Starting Line-Up: Crocombe | Payne, Surman, Bindon, Cacace | Rufer, Howieson | Barbarouses, Just, Old |
Mata

Subs Used: Greive (Mata 58’), Kelly-Heald (Surman 73’), Smith (Bindon 73’), Van Hattum (Old 83’), Randall (Barbarouses 83’)

Goals (Assists)

10’ Mata (Just)

27’ OG (Mata) or Old shot follow up

63’ Just

77’ Old (Just)

SEMI-FINAL vs TAHITI

Onwards went the All Whites into the semi-finals, where Tahiti awaited. Tahiti with their French manager, Ludovic Graugnard, and a sturdy defence that had only conceded twice in three games during the group stage. There was a longer break between games two and three which allowed Darren Bazeley to pick almost the same starting line-up as before, with the only change being Ben Waine returning in place of Max Mata up top. Nothing to worry about there.

The kiwi side were bright from the outset, looking as enthused as they had in any of these matches. Ben Old was running hard in transition. Eli Just was getting into the pockets. Just had a crack from a free kick on the edge of the area but he hit the wall with it. A few minutes later, he won another free kick a little further out but this time Cacace took it. Libby’s shot struck the post and then rolled gently into the middle of the goal where a queue of All Whites were waiting to tap it home and Finn Surman got there first. His one and only Wellington Phoenix goal was overruled as an OG but he had nothing to worry about with this sitter.

There was no let up from there. Ben Old dinked one wide after a clever feed from Barbarouses. Cacace hit the post again. This time from open play, this time too much of a rocket for anyone to follow it up. Bindon nearly scored an acrobatic volley from a wicked Cacace corner kick. Alas, there was a significant setback when Payne pulled up clutching his left hamstring after 20-odd minutes. On came Tommy Smith, with Tyler Bindon sliding out to right back (Payne was the only natural right back in the whole squad, though Bindon and later Sam Sutton would serve as fill-ins the rest of the way).

That slowed things down and Tahiti were able to settle back into the strong defensive foundations they’d shown during the group stage. Chances eased off. Got a bit messy in places. But a quickfire double just before the break revived the spirits... first it was Kosta Barbarouses unselfishly squaring to Ben Waine when he could have kept charging towards goal. Waine finished inch-perfectly off the joinery. Then Kotsa got his karmic reward two minutes later when Libby Cacace beat a bloke and pulled the ball back towards the penalty spot for Barbarouses to bury. It coulda been more but Waine got told to get back up after being chopped down in the box. 3-0 at the break.

Sam Sutton came on for Bindon when the teams re-emerged, a straight swap at right back that was probably less about tactics than it was about Bindon having picked up a yellow card for thumping a bloke on the sideline. No need to flirt with suspensions with a big lead in place. A lead that soon became even larger when Cacace skipped past another challenge after collecting a return ball from Howieson and then picked out Waine in the middle, no dramas.

That made it 4-0 after 53 minutes. They’d beat their personal best for the ONC with a fifth goal in the 71st. It was a quick free kick from Just that sparked it (so quick that the broadcasters missed it live while they were still showing replays). Some slick passing work ended with substitute Alex Greive getting a side-footed chance about ten yards out... which was cleared off the line by a defender. But then Kosta Barbarouses swept it home on the rebound, sweet as.

It should have been more. Greive hit the post after a good set up from Randall. Mata had two headers that could have easily been goals (one he nodded wide from a corner, the other drew a brilliant save - both from Cacace crosses). Randall volleyed over at the back stick. This is when we had to remind ourselves that this was not a full strength All Whites squad and a little imprecision had to be expected. Had to settle for five. 3-0 in game one, 4-0 in game two, 5-0 in game three. Improving each time. Note the three assists for captain Liberato Cacace who was a very easily-nominated Man of the Match on this occasion.

All Whites 5-0 Tahiti

Starting Line-Up: Crocombe | Payne, Surman, Bindon, Cacace | Rufer, Howieson | Barbarouses, Just, Old |
Waine

Subs Used: Smith (Payne 25’), Sutton (Bindon 45’), Greive (Howieson 67’), Mata (Waine 67’), Randall (Old 79’)

Goals (Assists)

7’ Surman (Cacace)

45’ Waine (Barbarouses)

45+3’ Barbarouses (Cacace)

53’ Waine (Cacace)

71’ Barbarouses

FINAL vs VANUATU

A couple of hours after the All Whites defeated Tahiti, the other semi-final kicked off with Fiji taking on the host nation. Despite Fiji having scored 15 times during the group stage on their way to three straight wins, it was Vanuatu that flipped the script with a 2-1 victory. Jonathan Spokeyjack put the crowd in raptures after 11 minutes with a brilliant solo goal swooping in from the right wing – making up for Bong Kalo having missed a penalty about a minute earlier. Fiji equalised forty seconds into the second half when Sitiveni Cavuilagi thumped a low strike home from outside the box (after a Roy Krishna lay-off)... but Vanuatu had another one up their sleeve. Their tournament had begun with a 1-0 win over Solomon Islands courtesy of a headed goal from a corner. Their tournament would continue thanks to another headed goal from a corner, this time from Jason Thomas, booking them passage into the grand final (after they withstood the rest of what Fiji could throw at them).

Thus it was a rematch of Aotearoa vs Vanuatu for the prize. Freshwater Stadium sold 7000 tickets for the game but, same as with Vanuatu’s semi-final, there was an estimated 10,000-plus who crammed into the grounds (letting kids under the age of 12 in for free made it impossible to track). And that estimate might not have even included the dozens upon dozens perched on the roofs of neighbouring buildings. It was a spectacular atmosphere which was all geared up against the All Whites... who shrugged that off by scoring in the second minute through Cam Howieson. A wonderful half-volley strike pouncing on a deflection in the penalty area. The All Whites scored inside of ten minutes in all four games of this tournament.

There was one change to the starting team and that was Sam Sutton replacing the injured Tim Payne at right back. An enforced change. Otherwise Darren Bazeley stuck steady with his preferred eleven despite the three-day turnaround. Which... may have been a factor in the very tame performance that followed. The pitch was a much bigger factor, in fairness, with some wild bumpers on that thick and uneven grass following plenty of usage over the previous two weeks. Yet the approach from the All Whites was hardly blameless either. Too much pass-and-move stuff around the penalty area like they were on silky flat turf and not nearly enough shooting.

Granted, they had the lead. They were in control. Alex Rufer was sweeping the midfield with prowess. Vanuatu never threatened their goal the entire way through. The hosts did defend like heroes using their physicality and keeping a disciplined shape which made it tough for the kiwis to find much room, especially with how their wingers doubled up out wide. Plus we also saw a few decisions and executions from the NZers that, once again, reflected the fact that this was not a first-choice squad capable of first-choice efficiency. But there were enough mitigating factors not to need to worry about all that. It’s all chill.

Eventually, Timothy Boulet got sent off for a second yellow after absolutely clattering Ben Old in a challenge near halfway. Then Jesse Randall popped up off the bench with a goal and then an assist for Max Mata and that was that. 3-0 to the All Whites who claimed another Oceania Nations Cup title. They also claimed the Fair Play Award for the best disciplinary record, while Max Crocombe got the Golden Gloves for keeping more clean sheets than he made saves (at least it felt that way) and Liberato Cacace was a deserving Golden Ball for Player of the Tournament. Only blemish was Roy Krishna sneaking in to claim the Golden Boot with 5 goals scored. Ben Waine only had 4 and went scoreless in the final after Krishna had scored in Fiji’s 2-1 loss to Tahiti in the third-place playoff. Krishna does have NZ citizenship so close enough.

All Whites 5-0 Tahiti

Starting Line-Up: Crocombe | Sutton, Surman, Bindon, Cacace | Rufer, Howieson | Barbarouses, Just, Old |
Waine

Subs Used: Smith (Sutton 72’), Randall (Waine 72’), Greive (Just 81’), Mata (Old 88’), Kelly-Heald (Bindon 88’)

Goals (Assists)

2’ Howieson

83’ Randall

90+1’ Mata (Randall)

STATS & REACTION

You get a clear indication from those stats as to what the pecking order was at this tourney. Darren Bazeley wasn’t interested in rotation. That led to significant roles for quite a few players who haven’t really experienced that before. The midfield combo of Alex Rufer and Cam Howieson is very experienced... but not at this level. Ben Old doubled his cap count in Vanuatu. It was particularly exciting to get a geeze at Finn Surman and Tyler Bindon as CB partners ahead of the Olympics. Chances are we see plenty more of that duo in Paris in a month, chances are we see plenty more of that duo for the senior side over the next decade.

The lack of rotation was a little surprising. The only change between the semis and the final was an injury-enforced one and, given the pitches, it was fortunate that Tim Payne was the only casualty after four games in 12 days. Bazeley left two open spots in the squad because he didn’t want to take fellas who weren’t going to play anyway, so he claimed. Then, on top of that, Oli Sail didn’t see a single second while Fin Conchie and Oskar van Hattum were barely used. Seven different blokes started all four games with Alex Rufer playing every minute. Payne and Cacace likely would have started all four if not for injury and suspension. Then, in the final, Baze didn’t even make a substitution until inside the final twenty minutes. Pretty hectic workloads. But the lads did get the job done.

The timings of the NZ goals across the tournament:

2’, 6', 7', 10', 11' 27', 45', 45+3', 45+3', 53', 63', 71', 77', 83’, 90+1’

They really did make a point of cashing in early. Being able to establish early leads in every single game was a huge factor in how controlled the All Whites looked throughout this thing.

All six uncapped players made debuts in the opening game: Sam Sutton, Alex Paulsen, Jesse Randall, Oskar van Hattum, Lukas Kelly-Heald, and Fin Conchie. At the other end of the scale, Kosta Barbarouses has risen up to 60 caps which ties him for sixth all-time alongside Chris Jackson. The only All Whites with more caps are: Ivan Vicelich (88), Chris Wood (74), Simon Elliott (69), Vaughan Coveny (64), and Ricki Herbert (61). Tommy Smith is also up to 55 caps. Michael Boxall wasn’t here, obviously, but he’s on 48 so should soon become the 20th bloke to bring up the half-century for Aotearoa (meanwhile the Football Ferns have 13 centurions).

A couple of dudes that would have expected to play a lot more: Alex Greive and Tommy Smith. Neither made a start. Greive played mostly as a ten when he came on, throwing it back to his Waitakere United days. He never really had enough room to make an impact though, only getting one minute more than Jesse Randall did.

In fairness, this maybe wasn’t a situation in which Greive would have been at his best anyway. The lumpy pitch made things tough for all of the dribblers. Elijah Just was able to adapt and Kosta Barbarouses had some moments, albeit inconsistently. Ben Old was the main example though. He got great minutes throughout the tournament, way more than expected for a bloke who’d never started a senior international game before, but with all the bobbles and deep defensive sets that he faced he just couldn’t affect the game the way he does for the Wellington Phoenix. Then when he instead tried to play the precision passes he simply wasn’t able to hit the mark the way that guys like Just and Cacace (and sometimes Barbarouses) did. It’s all good experience. The grass will be softer in France.

Speaking of the pitches, here’s a fantastic anecdote here courtesy of Coen Lammers for Friends of Football:

“Aside from the FIFA-funded Freshwater Stadium, other venues are run by the [Vanuatu] government and the pitches are not always their top priority, while the broadleaved island grass makes it difficult to create a smooth surface. The ground staff at Freshwater tried to grow a pitch with thinner grass like players are used to in New Zealand, only to see the local grass take over in a matter of weeks. The best training pitch on the main island of Efate turned out to be at the Montmarte School, far in the hills above Port Vila, surrounded by dense tropical bush which can only be reached after some serious off-roading. The All Whites used Montmarte as their training base, where the support staff got a bit of a fright in their first session, retrieving wayward balls from the bushes and being confronted by huge spiders, allegedly the size of small dogs. As a result, some of the balls were left behind in the bush for the local school kids to retrieve, and the shooting drills were moved to the other goal.”

See, this is why these Oceania tournaments are great. There’s an amateurishness that most professional players would never have to experience (imagine the stories that Cacace can tell his Serie A mates now) but that also comes with an endearing jolt of genuine humanity. Just look at the crowds for those Vanuatu knockout games. This is what the world’s game looks like. To have this tournament going on at the same time as the Euros and Copa America is sporting joy in perspective... and to think the All Whites almost didn’t go.

Players who scored their first international goals during the 2024 ONC: Ben Old, Max Mata, Finn Surman, Cam Howieson, and Jesse Randall. Funny that all three of the goals in the final were scored by Auckland FC signings. Sadly, Tommy Smith ran out of time to make it four. There were plenty of Phoenix goals throughout the tournament too, for those of you who didn’t care for that previous fact, although whether any beyond the three that Kosta scored will be part of the squad next season remains to be seen. Ben Old’s on his way to Saint-Étienne and, you never know, Finn Surman could be next.

Speaking of next, we should have an Olympic squad named in the next few days. One task down, another task arrives. Expect plenty of crossover between this squad and that. In the meantime, let us celebrate a satisfactory outcome at the 2024 Oceania Nations Cup.

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