All Whites vs Poland & Norway: The Reaction
It shouldn’t really need to be said but this was a successful window for the All Whites. A narrow loss to Poland in which our two best players weren’t involved aside from ten minutes at the end for Chris Wood? A 1-1 draw against a Norwegian team to snap a nine-game winning streak for the Norwegians (39 goals scored, 4 conceded in those nine wins)? Admittedly they were understrength too (no Haaland, Odegaard, or several others) but there was still enough room within those performances, away from home, to feel like New Zealand deserved what they got and could easily have gotten more. Sure, we all want to see more results like the lads got against Ivory Coast earlier in the year but that’s not a normal outcome. What is becoming normal, though, is that the All Whites keep turning up and competing with these much more renowned footballing nations.
To put this into some more context, here’s a wild stat for you: the All Whites have never won away against a team from outside Asia or Oceania. They’ve won quite a few in Asia over the years and there are five instances of beating Australia on their own turf (albeit two of those were more than 100 years ago)... but never in Europe, Africa, North & Central America, South America. We’ve beaten nations from those areas but we’ve beaten them in Aotearoa or, more commonly (since we play so few home games against non-OFC teams), on neutral territory.
It’s even crazier against UEFA nations. We never actually played a non-neutral game on European soil until 2002 with a meeting against Estonia. Since then we’ve popped back regularly with the only non-defeats being: 1-1 against Scotland in 2003, 1-1 against Estonia in 2006, 2-2 against Wales in 2007, 1-1 against Ireland in 2023, and 1-1 against Norway in 2025. Two of those have come under Darren Bazeley. Our only wins against European nations under any context* have come against Georgia (3-1 in 2006, held in Germany) and Serbia (1-0 in 2010, held in Austria).
*(This doesn’t include Israel because they’re not a real European nation and weren’t part of UEFA when we beat them in 1985... in fact they were actually briefly part of Oceania at that time, having been boycotted out of Asia)
Taking it even further, the Football Ferns only won away outside of Asia/Oceania for the first time when they beat Brazil 1-0 in Sao Paolo in 2015 - Amber Hearn with the legendary goal that day. Hearn also scored the winner in a 1-0 result against Portugal in Albufeira the following year and since then we can add 1-0 vs England in Brighton (2019) and 1-0 vs Costa Rica in San Jose (2025) to the list as well. In other words, there’s never been a time in history where a New Zealand football team could reasonably expect to beat a nation like Poland or Norway in front of their own fans.
And yet... we could have. The gap is closing and the stink performances are becoming very rare. That seems to be causing frustration for some fans who feel they’re seeing the All Whites bang their head against the same ceiling time after time, falling short because of the same unfixed limitations. But that’s not really fair. First of all, it’s a fishbowl mentality that ignores the quality of the teams that we’ve been up against... as well as the fact that nobody outside of Aotearoa was expecting the All Whites to hold Norway to a draw whether Erling Haaland was available or not. Second of all, it the ceiling may not be shifting (yet) but we’re hitting it far more often these days. Compared to even just a couple years ago we’re creating way more chances against top-50 ranked opps. Remember when Danny Hay’s tenure ended with a run of five games without scoring a single, measly, godforsaken goal? Those opponents were: Peru, Oman, Costa Rica, and Australia (x2).
In order to win more of these games we’re going to need to score twice and that’s not something we’ve seen for a long time... the last time NZ scored twice against a nation currently in the top-50 was a 4-2 loss against Japan in 2014. Chris Wood got both. But we’re not getting shut out as often as we used to and that’s progress. All of this is progress, even if there’s still a lot further to travel.
All Whites vs Top-50 Ranked Non-OFC Opposition Under Darren Bazeley
L 1-4 vs Sweden
L 0-2 vs Australia
L 0-2 vs Greece
L 0-1 vs Egypt
D 0-0 vs Tunisia
L 0-3 vs Mexico
D 1-1 vs USA
W 1-0 vs Ivory Coast
L 1-2 vs Ukraine
L 0-1 vs Australia
L 1-3 vs Australia
L 0-1 vs Poland
D 1-1 vs Norway
One goal from six games to begin with. Then five goals in seven since. It’s not enough but we’ve gotta admit it’s moving in the right direction. Especially because Chris Wood has only scored one of them, with Ben Waine (USA), Eli Just (Ivory Coast), Marko Stamenic (Ukraine), and Finn Surman (Norway) all chipping in. Callum McCowatt scored the goal against Sweden too. That’s great to see considering how many seemingly impressive international scoring records in this squad collapse when you remove the goals against Oceania teams.
This was the European test. Next window the lads will get their South American test with matches against Colombia (16 November) and Ecuador (19 November). That stat about the away wins will linger on because both matches are going to be played in neutral USA... although there will be a different stat on the line because the All Whites have never beaten a South American team under any circumstances. 17 games, 0 wins, 4 draws, 13 defeats. We haven’t even scored a goal in any of the past eight (including a double-legged World Cup playoff against Peru). Keep that in mind when balancing expectations... but also know that this team won’t be intimidated. They genuinely believe they can compete with anyone and the performances are going a long way towards backing that up.
Game One: Lost 1-0 vs Poland
The thing that stood out when these games were announced was the prospect of putting Chris Wood up against Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland. But of course this was only a friendly and Poland and Norway each had a far more valuable qualifying game to prioritise during this window so neither of them played against New Zealand... and Chris Wood himself only did about seventy combined minutes.
As anticipated, Alex Paulsen was picked to start against the nation where he’s now based. An injury to Joe Bell meant he wasn’t risked for either game so we saw Marko Stamenic and Ryan Thomas hold it down in the midfield. Ben Waine got the nod up top in the absence of not only Wood but also Kosta Barbarouses. And for just the second time, we saw the all-MLS central defensive combination of Finn Surman and Boxall. Matt Garbett started on the wing.
NZ Starting Eleven vs Poland: Alex Paulsen | Tim Payne, Finn Surman, Michael Boxall, Francis de Vries | Marko Stamenic, Ryan Thomas | Callum McCowatt, Sarpreet Singh, Matt Garbett | Ben Waine
This game had a few similarities to the first match against Australia last window. For starters, it was a very good, confident, determined All Whites display in which they showed some really smooth passing at times. They also showed a bit too much of the long ball stuff trying to stretch the defence with Waine’s pace since he doesn’t have the strength to hold the ball up like Chris Wood does (although Waine has improved in that area). Marko Stamenic hits a mean deep ball... though the times when it worked where the times when it was Callum McCowatt who angled onto those passes, offering an extra degree of technique and anticipation compared to the out-of-form Waine. All the same it was a decent performance, including a few hints of set piece focus and some occasionally useful pressing (usually when Ryan Thomas got involved).
But it was also a game in which Poland, like Australia before them, were able to alter the course by going to their bench, making four changes at half-time and promptly scoring a goal through Piotr Zielinski. The All Whites would shift it back in their favour in the last fifteen, particularly after Ben Old and debutant Owen Parker-Price (and then, in the 84th minute, Chris Wood too) were introduced. They finished pretty well... but weren’t able to find an equaliser. NZ’s best stuff came in the first half before Poland went up the gears in a way that the All whites just couldn’t match.
However we did see a very solid effort from Alex Paulsen earning by far his most challenging cap to date – his previous starts having come against Solomon Islands, Malaysia, and Samoa (combined scoreline of 15-0). We also saw some pristine Ryan Thomas mahi balancing his deeper midfield responsibilities with lending a helping hand going forward. At times that leaves the team at risk of being countered but he’s usually very smart at picking his moments. Damn it’s good to have him back. It was also very encouraging to see what Owen Parker-Price got up to with in his fifteen minutes. His coach at Örgryte has talked up OPP’s superb decision making and you saw that even in this small cameo where he not only shifted the ball smoothly but he did so with the intention of creating chances. He had a really positive impact. And that CB combination was excellent, no surprises there. Just needed a goal to cap things off.
Game Two: Drew 1-1 vs Norway
Then came the fun one, where Darren Bazeley made two changes to his team and neither was a goalkeeper. Alex Paulsen retained his spot ahead of Max Crocombe and thus played both games of this tour. Other than that there was a Ben Old start on the wing and there was a Chris Wood start up front. Matt Garbett also moved to the central ten position with Sarpreet Singh swapping out wide. Singh’s been paying rent on that number ten role lately, starting the previous eight games in a row there (note the regularity – Singh has the longest active starting streak in the team, now at nine), but Garbett shares the same trait of being more effective centrally than out wide. So they alternated.
Everything just feels better with Chris Wood out there. We all understand why he needs his minutes managed – even in this game it was the case as Bazeley subbed him off at the first inkling of any soreness – but there’s just such a drop off from him to anyone else. The only other player in the squad that’s still true of is Libby Cacace (who didn’t play these games at all but should be back for November). Bell was out and we still had Thomas and Stamenic. Bindon/Surman/Boxall can alternate at CB. Heaps of attacking mids. Crocombe and Paulsen. It’s only CF and LB that the depth doesn’t cover quite so effortlessly.
Norway did the same thing as Poland where they made multiple half-time substitutions and turned the game. Sander Berge is class but the bloke who really shifted the dynamic was Antonio Nusa (of RB Leipzig) whose rapid dribbling skills cutting in from the wing were more than anyone could handle, let alone our A-League fullbacks. This is another recurring theme because it’s effectively the same drama that Nestory Irankunda caused when we played the Aussies (Irankunda scored in a 1-0 win for Aussie against Canada this window so at least he wasn’t picking on us specifically). For those of you keeping score at home, we’ve noted severe weaknesses in these areas:
Speedy wingers who can go 1v1
Deeper opponents who can change the game with substitutions
Replacing the production of Wood and Cacace when they’re unavailable
Anyway, Norway went on the charge with Nusa out there... but Chris Wood had two glorious chances to make it 2-0 that he couldn’t take. One was smashed into the framework from a tough angle. The other a headed chance that he didn’t quite make contact with. Later on at 1-1, Ben Old also put a diving header straight at the keeper after Payne’s cross bounced to him at the back post. Not sure he didn’t have time to take a touch and kick it, to be honest.
Even though Norway stepped it up and dominated the second stanza, there were opportunities for the kiwis the whole way through. Plus it also means something to say that they withstood a fair bit of pressure towards the end in front of a raucous home crowd and they didn’t crack. Alex Paulsen’s shot stopping had a lot to do with that. As did the powerful displays from Boxall and Surman.
It was Boxall and Surman who combined for the goal. Just before the break, brilliant time to score. Francis de Vries sent a free kick deep to Boxall (who kept hanging deep on set pieces for this exact purpose throughout both games) who nodded it back across to where Finn Surman put his future progeny on the line for his country by stretching out a boot to score. There had earlier been a similar set piece goal disallowed after Wood’s header was parried out and Stamenic buried it. That was scratched off because Wood was very marginally offside. Half an hour later, the VAR returned and this time could find no reason to deny.
If you want an idea of how small the margins can be, this one was offside (Wood)...
And this one was onside (Boxall)...
Set pieces are such a massive outlet for any football team that’s short on goals. To see the All Whites twice put the ball in back of the net from free kick scenarios is huge. We also saw the long throws utilised here. FDV on the left and Boxall on the right. Boxy’s become a cult hero in America with his long throws but the thing about that is you also want him in the area competing for them. That’s what the situation was with FDV trying to hit Boxall for the flick-on at the near post... but it’s a little too much to ask De Vries to rush over the other flank for a throw-in so Boxy still took them on that side. Seeing some genuine counter-attacking threats in that second half was massive too. We want to see the All Whites breaking teams down with sustained controlled possession but, realistically, that’s tough to do. Hence they’ve got to maximise whatever outlets are available and this game offered more encouragement in that regard than we’ve seen for a long time.
Thoughts & Reaction
Darren Bazeley said afterwards that he felt it was “the right time” to give Alex Paulsen this opportunity. AP has been the best goalkeeper in the A-League in consecutive seasons with two different clubs and now he’s made an instant and seamless integration into European football at Lechia Gdańsk. Meanwhile Max Crocombe’s exciting move to Millwall has turned out to not be very exciting at all - he’s only played two cup games, getting stuck behind a loanee keeper from Fulham with the club’s usual number one soon to return from injury. Crocs has been unlucky. You can even argue he’s been unfairly treated. But the fact of the matter is that Paulsen is playing and Crocombe is not and that’s opened the door for AP to lay down two flawless displays against Poland and Norway. Especially the Norway game where he made a couple of superb saves. This is a bit like the centre-back selections where there’s no wrong answer – you’re going to get quality from whoever you pick. But we may have just seen a change in our goalkeeping ranks. Watch this space.
The other guy whose stocks really rose during these matches was Michael Boxall. Everyone loves the Surman/Bindon potential and perhaps that’s caused folks to overlook what Boxy has been doing. The bro is 37 years old and in the form of his life. MLS All Star in 2025. His Minnesota United team are currently campaigning for him to win MLS Defender of the Year. Again, there’s no wrong answer in which two of the three CBs you want to see selected... but if Alex Paulsen is nudging ahead as the number one then that makes Boxall’s presence even more meaningful since otherwise we’ll be going into the World Cup with a goalkeeper/centre-back/centre-back triangle born in 2002, 2003, and 2005. This isn’t about making concessions to a veteran though... he’s a starter on form not experience. However, the wobbles that Bindon’s been experiencing at Sheffield United have probably made that decision a lot easier (Bindon came off the bench against Norway as the kiwis locked into a back three to hold on for the draw).
Crowd figures: 30,412 at Stadion Śląski in Poland; 17,652 at Ullevaal Stadion in Norway (for reference, we got 25,132 at Eden Park for the WCQ final against New Caledonia and 18,213 at Mt Smart against Australia).
You’d imagine the other A-League players come back into the mix for the November window... in which case you’ve gotta wonder if Ben Waine even makes that squad. Kosta Barbarouses is ahead of him. Andre De Jong is now back in contention (albeit he played much less than Waine on this tour). At least Max Mata is off the scene at the moment but then so is Ben Waine, in a manner of speaking. Waine can’t even get into the matchday squads for Port Vale in League One and you could see that frustration in how he wanted to shoot all the time against Poland (usually blocked). It was typical Waine-o in that he ran all day and threw himself about. He didn’t play poorly... but he also didn’t do anything that we need to see more of. Ben Old is similar in that you can doubt his physicality (in his case his size), you can doubt his end product, you can have doubts about his club situation too (playing sparse minutes off the bench in the French second tier)... but when Old gets on the park he usually makes things happen in a way that feels worth the gamble. Dunno that we’re seeing that from Waine... and how many back-up strikers do we really need in a squad? To be honest, it might not even be a bad idea to try Callum McCowatt there.
It’s a pity we didn’t get to see more of Andre De Jong. ADJ hasn’t been at his best in this South African season, though his style of play (as more of a false nine dropping into pockets and seeking to release the wingers around him) would provide a more diverging approach in those minutes without Chris Wood, rather than trying to play the same way with an inferior number nine. Instead he only got fifteen mins against Poland where, in his first international for three years, he never had time to catch up with the pace of the game. He’s back on the radar now though, we’ll see what unfolds over the next month. Same with George Stanger who finally made an All Whites squad but his debut will have to wait. At best he’s fourth choice CB, maybe more like fifth or sixth. You can bet that he’d have been subbed on before Tommy Smith though, while Bill Tuiloma and Lukas Kelly-Heald were both only used as fullback cover.
Of the three positive results that the All Whites have gotten against World Cup level opposition across the past twelve months (1-1 vs USA, 1-0 vs Ivory Coast, 1-1 vs Norway), the only players who started in all three matches were Finn Surman and Marko Stamenic. In fact, there were 21 players who feature across those starting line-ups. We might still be getting cooked by impact subs but that’s a pretty good indicator that our own depth is as good as it’s ever been.
Robert Lewandowski: 87 goals in 161 caps (six hat-tricks)
Erling Haaland: 51 goals in 46 caps (six hat-tricks)
Chris Wood: 45 goals in 87 caps (four hat-tricks)
Speaking of Chris Wood, his appearance against Norway means that he’s now level with Ivan Vicelich as New Zealand’s all-time most capped players with 88 full international matches. Kosta Barbarouses (70 caps) has quietly crept up to third in recent times while Michael Boxall (60) has cracked the top ten. Tommy Smith is the other active player with 50+ caps (56) although Tim Payne (47) and Bill Tuiloma (45) are closing in. Incredibly, Elijah Just is up to 38 caps already. Even after being injured for this tour, he’s still only missed six matches since his debut in 2019.
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