All Whites vs Colombia/Ecuador: Squad Yarns & Preview
Next up for the All Whites, in their final tour of 2025, is a trip to the United States of America where they’ll meet Colombia and Ecuador on neutral soil. That neutrality is notable after a couple of away games last tour which came with the revelation that the Aotearoa men’s side has never won an away game outside of Asia or Oceania. Not once in the vast depths of history has it happened. No chance to bust that stat here but there is another one on the line because guess what? The record is no better against South American nations.
Starting with a 4-0 loss to Brazil at the 1982 World Cup and spanning until a 1-0 loss against Peru in 2022, the All Whites have played 17 times against South American opposition. Those games have provided 0 wins, 4 draws, and 13 defeats... with 7 goals scored and 43 conceded. We haven’t scored a single goal in any of the past eight instances. The Intercontinental Playoffs against Peru will be the most memorable of those in more recent times: a 0-0 draw in Wellington followed by a 2-0 loss in Lima, where Peru pulled the classic trick of flying military jets over the team hotel and fans set off fireworks in the middle of the night. But the funkiest was surely a 4-0 loss just prior to the 2006 World Cup against a Brazil team featuring the likes of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, and Kaka.
A few week later, Brazil (who were defending champs after 2002) flamed out by losing 1-0 to France in the quarters for which midfielder Juninho lumped a chunk of the blame upon the poor standard of their warm-up schedule: “We didn't come to the World Cup prepared. We prepared against a Swiss second-division side and a New Zealand team with feet stuck in the mud.”
That was a legendary era Brazilian team... this is Colombia and Ecuador. But we might rather be playing current day Brazil because both Colombia and Ecuador actually finished above the Brazilians in World Cup qualifying. Colombia did so via goal difference, finishing third with 28 points from 18 games. They were the second highest scoring team in the tournament (28 goals, three fewer than Argentina) and were almost impeccable at home where their only loss came against... Ecuador, funnily enough. They beat both Argentina and Brazil in Barranquilla.They weren’t nearly as good outside of Colombia so that might be something to hang a hat on. In the last window, Colombia won 4-0 against Mexico and drew 0-0 with Canada. They’re playing Australia three days after they play us. Their squad features names such as James Rodriguez (León), David Ospina (Atlético Nacional), Jefferson Lerma (Crystal Palace), Yerry Mina (Cagliari), Daniel Muñoz (Crystal Palace), Davinson Sánchez (Galatasaray), and Luis Dias (Bayern Munich).
Ecuador are even better. They finished second in CONMEBOL qualifying, losing just twice in their 18 fixtures... and that’s despite having a three point deduction for some shoddy paperwork in the previous cycle. Ecuador only scored 14 goals, less than one per game, but they also only conceded five. Never more than once in a match (and three of those goals came in the first three games of qualifying – it’s absolutely nuts how good they were defensively). Needless to say, there were a lot of low scoring games involving these fellas with 8/18 games ending in 0-0 draws and that may be the positive angle for All Whites fans. Ecuador drew 1-1 with both Mexico and USA in the October window and will face Canada in Toronto prior to their match against the All Whites. Ecuador’s players are less individually renown but you may recognise fellas such as Moises Caicedo (Chelsea), Piero Hincapie (Arsenal), Enner Valencia (Pachuca), and Willian Pacho (Paris Saint-Germain). They’re currently on a 13-game unbeaten streak dating back to a 1-0 loss away to Brazil in September 2024. Colombia are seven unbeaten also going back to a loss against Brazil in Brazil (2-1 in March 2025).
In contrast, the All Whites are on a one-game unbeaten streak – with the 1-1 draw against Norway snapping a four-game skid. And Chris Wood, the only New Zealander with a track record of scoring against non-Oceania opposition, is out injured. The only players in this squad who have scored more than once against teams outside our confederation: Matt Garbett (3), Elijah Just (2), and Marko Stamenic (2). Callum McCowatt would have been on that list too except he’s also out injured.
The players will still be confident and us fans should always be hopeful. For one thing, the All Whites usually seem to keep it close against better teams these days (and a 0-0 against Ecuador certainly isn’t impossible to imagine). In a close game there’s always the chance of something freaky happening... just remember to keep those expectations realistic. It’s easy to get caught up in our kiwi football bubble and forget that, even with our own vast improvements, a nation like Aotearoa is always the underdog and underdogs usually lose. Although even when they lose, the All Whites are starting to put together a track record of being tougher opponents than teams are expected. After three multi-goal defeats in a row against top-50 opponents to start the Bazeley Era, that’s only happened in 2/10 games since (and one was against an Aussie team to whom we’re now pretty familiar).
All Whites Results vs Top-50 Ranked Opposition Under Darren Bazeley
L 1-4 vs Sweden (A)
L 0-2 vs Australia (N)
L 0-2 vs Greece (A)
L 0-1 vs Egypt (A)
D 0-0 vs Tunisia (N)
L 0-3 vs Mexico (N)
D 1-1 vs USA (A)
W 1-0 vs Ivory Coast (N)
L 1-2 vs Ukraine (N)
L 0-1 vs Australia (A)
L 1-3 vs Australia (H)
L 0-1 vs Poland (A)
D 1-1 vs Norway (A)
Darren Bazeley probably would have been happy keeping the squad he had for the Oceania WCQ final all the way through to the World Cup (with added Finn Surman and Ben Old, of course) but injuries and a few bursts of form in the windows since have shaken some things up. There are still around 15 or so players who would need to have a leg amputated in order to miss selection but the rest of it seems way more up-in-the-air than it did six months ago. Kees Sims and George Stanger are on the scene now. Owen Parker-Price too. Andre de Jong has returned to the mix. Ben Waine is barely hanging in there. No idea who the reserve right-back behind Tim Payne will be. The resumption of the A-League is giving a few more guys a chance to strut, most notably Jesse Randall. And it’s the jostling for those 8-10 depth spots that’ll be most fascinating in these games as several of those candidates find themselves with expanded opportunities in the absence of a few regulars.
This squad’s missing its captain. Chris Wood has only played once off the bench for Nottingham Forest since the previous window as he manages a knee injury. Needs a bit more rest and so he’ll have to wait until next year to break Ivan Vicelich’s appearance record, having tied it against Norway. That’s always a concern because not only is the drop-off without pretty steep but also the alternatives all play in very different ways so it’s a tactical hurdle as well. It feels like Wood is always being managed through something (he plays at the toughest level so it comes with the territory) but these will be the first games he’s missed since the Oceania Nations Cup in June 2024. He didn’t always start but he’s gotten on the pitch in the past 14 games in a row – which was the longest active streak for the All Whites, a badge that now passes along to Sarpreet Singh who has appeared in ten consecutive games (starting the last nine in a row).
The games against Poland and Norway were only the second and third times that the All Whites have played a game without either of Cacace or Just going all the way back to Cacace’s debut in June 2018. Both were named in this squad... although a minor calf complaint has since caused Cacace to step aside again. This is why these preview yarns are usually written a week after the squads are announced because there are always withdrawals. And this squad has had more than a couple...
Cacace’s doesn’t sound like anything that’ll cause him to miss further games but in light of his previous muscle injuries they’ve just gotta play it safe. Just quietly, if Wrexham had gotten their business done earlier so that Cacace had an actual preseason with them rather than turning up and going straight into EFL Championship games then maybe all this doesn’t happen. But we ride on. Alex Paulsen suffered an injury in training for Lechia Gdańsk which kept him out of last weekend’s match. His coach says that tests were encouraging but Bazeley was never going to risk anything.
To make matters worse, Callum McCowatt was subbed at half-time right after scoring for Silkeborg and that turned out to be injury related too. Plus while Ryan Thomas did return to play a very influential ninety for PEC Zwolle in a much needed 1-0 win against Sparta Rotterdam over the weekend... he did miss three games before that dealing with a hip complaint suffered after rushing back from the last FIFA window. He’s not injured, per se, but he’s also not 100% fit and we’re simply going to have to deal with that from time to time with Thommo. Given his history, he has to play it safe with these things. And let’s be honest he’s ramped up extremely quickly with the All Whites, starting four games in a row with at least 60 minutes in all of them. Way more than expected. Perhaps more than was wise.
Ryan Thomas: “Actually, I wasn't completely honest with the medical staff back then. I was a bit overloaded and should have taken it easy. But I didn't want to miss that game with NAC. That put me back. We did a scan to check if nothing was broken. I hardly trained this week and on Saturday I played with pills... I have already had more minutes in three months than in the eighteen months before. My knees feel good and that's the most important thing. The national coach knows that. If I go with the national team, it shouldn't be a disadvantage for my career at PEC.”
You know what? That’s fair enough. If he’s needing painkillers to kit up for his club then no we shouldn’t be adding international friendlies to his workload. However, Marko Stamenic is expected to travel having returned to Swansea City from compassionate leave after the recent death of his father.
So keep all that in mind... with Chris Wood and Tim Payne also missing that’s six likely starters all absent for the All Whites as they embark upon their most difficult challenges of the Darren Bazeley Era (seven if Stamenic isn’t ready to go). In place of those withdrawn comrades, there have been late call-ups for Owen Parker-Price (who was on standby for Stamenic already), Jesse Randall (who probably would’ve been selected anyway had his Derby Day heroics come before the original squad was announced), James McGarry (who’s had a bright start with Brisbane Roar), Nik Tzanev (a relatively safe alternative), and also Tommy Smith who has been added to the squad to provide his usual Matua Energy. Bazeley was making all these other additions and he figured why the hell not chuck Smithy in there too (even though he’s not actually replacing anyone). Just like slipping that chocolate bar into the trolley at the check-out aisle.
GOALKEEPERS
Max Crocombe – Millwall, ENG (19 caps/0 goals)
Kees Sims – GAIS, SWE (0/0)
Nik Tzanev – Newport County, WAL/ENG (2/0)
If you don’t know who Kees Sims is then you’re obviously not a regular Niche Cache reader. In which case welcome to the whanau, it’s time you learned about the kiwi goalkeeper who has spent the last two seasons in the Swedish top division, predominantly on the bench but always with sporadic appearances until just recently when a dislocated shoulder to their main man gave Sims a run of five games to close their season. GAIS needed to win as many of those as possible in order to claim third spot for their best finish in three decades and earn qualification for next season’s Europa Conference League. Sims didn’t miss a beat and they booked third spot with a week to spare.
He’s 22 years old and has been involved in all the age grade stuff, serving as Paulsen’s back-up at the last Olympic Games. Came through the Ole Academy/Western Suburbs pathway. Very tall. Very assured. Great distribution. And absolutely worthy of this selection – for a while there he was the kiwi keeper playing at the highest level (Crocombe and AP have changed that since) and it was only his back-up status at GAIS that presumably prevented him from getting into Bazeley’s immediate plans earlier. Now he’s not only gotten that chance but with Paulsen’s injury he’s suddenly only one step away from making a debut.
It’s also the case that the rest of our goalkeeping depth hasn’t been up to much lately. Nik Tzanev was the third-choice last tour but while he was away, he lost his starting spot for Newport County. That’s one of the risks of being in those lower leagues where they don’t always break for internationals... though Tanz was already trending downwards. A bright start was followed by eight losses and a draw with zero clean sheets. Joe Wright then had two clean sheet victories within his first three games and now Tzanev is a bench-warmer for his club and has dropped to fourth in the All Whites pecking order behind Sims.
Oli Sail has also been in All Whites squads this year but he’s sitting on the bench for Auckland FC with occasional matches for the Reserves in the National League. Michael Woud last played for NZ two years ago and after a few years stuck as a back-up in various situations himself he’s been solid for Auckland FC but too well protected to stand out thus far. Woud has played fewer games this year than Kees Sims and at a lower level. Hence why Henry Gray might be closer to consideration that people realise. Gray started the season with Ipswich Town U21s but went on loan to Braintree Town where he linked up with Tommy Smith... very briefly until an injury back at Ipswich required him to be recalled after only one game. He’s currently training with their first team though hasn’t made a matchday squad. Gray was also in that Olympic squad and was the starter at the U20 World Cup recently.
Max Crocombe is a great example of how quickly things can change in professional football. When the last All Whites tour happened, only a month ago, he was stuck on the bench for both club and country, having to watch as Alex Paulsen took advantage with two fine performances in the position that Crocombe had previously made his own. But then immediately after that window, an injury to the bloke ahead of him at Millwall has seen Crocombe finally get his chance and he promptly helped them to three wins in a row. The results have dipped a little since (including a 4-0 loss to Birmingham last week) yet he’s done enough that the overwhelming majority of Millwall fans want to see him continue as the number one. Now Alex Paulsen’s injured and Crocs is the New Zealand number one again. How fickle the fates can be.
DEFENDERS
Tyler Bindon – Sheffield United, ENG (20/1)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United, USA (60/1)
Francis de Vries – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (14/1)
James McGarry – Brisbane Roar, AUS (3/0)
Storm Roux – Central Coast Mariners, AUS (16/0)
Tommy Smith – Braintree Town, ENG (56/2)
George Stanger – Kilmarnock, SCO (0/0)
Finn Surman – Portland Timbers, USA (13/2)
Bill Tuiloma – Charlotte FC, USA (45/4)
With neither Tim Payne nor Libby Cacace available, we’re about to have gone four consecutive windows without having both our premier fullbacks. Last time they were together in a starting eleven was for the WCQ final at Eden Park... granted, this’ll be the first time we’ve had neither of them during that span. That means opportunities on each side: Storm Roux and Bill Tuiloma will be competing on the right; Francis de Vries will start on the left with James McGarry around as deputy.
Roux has played full games in each of Central Coast’s four fixtures which has helped get him back in the picture having only made one appearance this year for the national team. Bill Tuiloma was also out of the side while he was getting iced out at Charlotte FC. Then he had a run of starts for them (mostly at right-back) and found himself recalled to the All Whites. Then he went back to being a perennial unused sub for Charlotte yet he’s still in the All Whites. But there’s only room for one out of Tuiloma and Roux once Payne is back... perhaps not even that given how well Callan Elliot played in the NZ Derby, especially since he’s about to get a run of starts for Auckland FC with Hiroki Sakai out for at least another month. Curious situation here and lots to gain for all each of them.
Elliot might have even gotten some consideration as Cacace’s replacement... although James McGarry deserves his nod too. He’s looked sharp for Brisbane Roar. Both he and Elliot got games off the bench in the Australia series in September. Don’t need to say much about FDV who’s continued to sprinkle the class for AFC to start the new season. His defensive prowess will certainly be tested by these opponents but that’ll be a useful challenge for him at this point in time.
As for the centre-backs, George Stanger has held his place as CB #4 as he searches for a debut cap. Tommy Smith won’t play... but if he does then he’ll rise a little higher on the all-time caps list. Michael Boxall’s career best season has continued with Minnesota United as they’ve taken advantage of a weird USA playoff format to advance to the second round – beating Seattle Sounders without actually beating Seattle Sounders. The first round of MLS Playoffs is a best of three series and Minnesota advanced because they won two penalty shootouts after drawing home games, even though they lost 4-2 in the away match in between.
Alas, Charlotte FC (Tuiloma) and Portland Timbers (Finn Surman) were eliminated so their club seasons are done and dusted. Boxall and Surman have established a slight lead on Tyler Bindon who’s stuck within a character-building stint at Sheffield United, yet to take the pitch since Chris Wilder came in as manager (despite being on the bench in most of those fixtures). There’s growing chat that they may cut his loan move short in January. We could Bindon squeezed out at right-back for these games in order to have our three best defensive players on the pitch at the same time – ordinarily that’d be annoying, Bindon’s no more of a right-back than Alex Rufer or Matt Garbett. But for these games, without Tim Payne, it’d make some sense.
We’ve also seen Nando Pijnaker return to fitness for Auckland FC. He was the established fourth-in-line central defender but now the emergence of George Stanger throws that one up in the air. Stanger is starting every week at a higher level. There may be nothing that Pijnaker can do about that... although his natural left-sidedness does give him one advantage. It’s something to ponder. Isaac Hughes is a little further back at this point but he’s played more than thirty A-League games now, nudging himself beyond ‘promising youngster’ status and into ‘reliable pro’ territory. He’d need a few injuries to make the cut but he’s getting closer.
MIDFIELDERS
Joe Bell – Viking FK, NOR (28/1)
Matthew Garbett – Peterborough United, ENG (34/5)
Owen Parker-Price – Örgryte, SWE (2/0)
Alex Rufer – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (22/0)
Sarpreet Singh – TSC Backa Topola, SER (24/3)
Marko Stamenic – Swansea City, WAL/ENG (33/3)
The games against Poland and Norway each had Ryan Thomas + Marko Stamenic midfields. There’ll be no Thommo this time and it’s unclear how much footy Stamenic will be cleared for. His recent bereavement could mean he’s held to a more limited role in these games, however this All Whites environment will be a good one for him to ease back into the sport again. Very supportive, strong brotherhood.
That all means we should get a lot more Joe Bell this time around. He sat out the previous tour with a minor knock, probably with an eye on a very heroic situation at his club team where Viking FC have against the odds managed to sustain a full-on title challenge in Norway. Viking FK are on a five-game winning streak and are undefeated in ten league matches. Two more wins and they’ll be champions. It’s been an incredible run and Joe Bell is indisputably one of the club’s most important players in what could prove to be one of the best Flying Kiwis stories of recent years. The only worry is that it’s such a massive month for Viking that any wee niggle could cause him to become unavailable – we’re talking about a pair of inconsequential friendlies versus a potential league championship that would make him a legend for life in the city of Stavanger.
Matt Garbett’s been doing his thing at Peterborough United, albeit for a losing team that just sacked their manager. He missed the first game under Luke Williams with a wee knock but returned for the 5-0 win against AFC Wimbledon, setting up a goal from an attacking midfield role. He’ll miss a game while he’s away with the national team. Sarpreet Singh also saw his manager fired recently... no more Darije Kalezic. Singh did score in DK’s last two games to give himself some momentum leading into the changeover (and also into these internationals)... but then he was an unused substitute in Srđan Blagojević’s first game in charge. Hmm. We’ll see how that pan out. Marko Stamenic’s coach at Swansea City has also just been sacked.
Alex Rufer wasn’t picked in October as Baze opted against a few extra A-Leaguers to allow them to be ready for week one of the new season. He’s now back having held onto this spot ahead of Owen Parker-Price who looked sharp in his first couple caps, though OPP was later added to the group in light of Thomas’ withdrawal. Rufer’s established leadership and more defensive midfield efforts are well respected by Bazeley. He might need to be careful with that though, particularly with Bell and Stamenic being used in more CDM type roles these days at their clubs which impinges on Rufer’s formerly unique selling point. That makes him yet another dude with something to prove on this tour. Same deal with OPP who’ll be seeking to overtake the Wellington Phoenix captain – after this window, Parker-Price will conclude his first season with Örgryte with a two-legged promotion playoff against IFK Norrköping for a spot in next season’s Allsvenskan, the top division in Sweden and the same league which Kees Sims has been playing in.
FORWARDS
Kosta Barbarouses – Western Sydney Wanderers, AUS (70/9)
Andre de Jong – Stellenbosch, RSA (11/2)
Elijah Just – Motherwell, SCO (38/8)
Ben Old – AS Saint-Étienne, FRA (18/1)
Jesse Randall – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (5/1)
Ben Waine – Port Vale, ENG (26/8)
Geez it looks pretty sparse without Chris Wood, aye? There’s no question of any of the alternatives being able to replace what Wood does. What’s funky about this situation is that the alts all bring such different styles to the party. This was a pretty enlightening quote from the coach on the matter...
Darren Bazeley: “They're all different. We don't want any of those three to try and be Chris Wood, because they can't be, that's too hard for them. But they all have individual attributes that have put them in a good position in their professional careers, so bring the best version of those things. Kosta has been very good for us. His goal in the World Cup qualifier is probably the goal I remember the most, but his positioning is very good defensively. Ben Waine played very well on the last tour and looked strong, aggressive, powerful. He looked like he had running in his legs. Andre is different. Andre is a link-up player. We need to work out, if Woodsy is not available, who is going to play up there.”
Right now, Barbarouses has the edge over Waine based on past selections. He’s also in better form and playing more regularly. Ben Waine has money in the bank with the national team but damn he must be clinging on by his fingernails having not played in more than two months for Port Vale, usually not even cracking the bench. We’ve seen Baze be similarly generous with Matt Garbett during a downturn in his career last season with NAC Breda... the difference is that was a sudden thing for Garbett whereas Waine’s outcasting may be in an extreme phase at the moment but he’s now three clubs deep in England and has never gotten a consistent run of minutes with any of them. Not saying he needs to shuffle back to the A-League with his tail between his legs... but perhaps lower-league England just isn’t the right fit for him. Would love to see what he could do in one of the Scandinavian nations, for example.
But who else is even putting their hands up? That’s the thing. Max Mata is off the scene entirely at the moment. Andre de Jong is deservedly back in the frame and his recall last window seems to have given him a jolt because he’s scored three goals for Stellenbosch since then. Except that he’s not really a number nine. Maybe a false nine... but he’s best sitting deeper as a link man, ideally making him more of a Sarpreet Singh alternative than a Chris Wood alternative. Get in where you fit in, though. If Callum McCowatt were available, it could be educational to see what he might do as a number nine, although whether Bazeley would consider that is another question. To be honest, the more you think about the back-up striker situation, the less silly a Moses Dyer recall becomes, considering that he’s scored in six consecutive games for Phnom Penh Crown in Cambodia. It’s not a great level but you can’t deny the output.
Fortunately, the fates have determined that Jesse Randall will get a crack as a late call-up following his stellar form to begin the A-League term. Little bit wasteful at times but the fitness and workrate are immense and he’s getting way more involved in games, well and truly earning his starting spot for AFC. The difference in his play compared to this time last year is amazing. It’s a big step up from there to internationals... but it’s cool to see him get the chance.
As for the others, same story as usual. Ben Old is getting sparse minutes for Saint-Etienne as they chase promotion back to the French top flight. Elijah Just is playing brilliantly for Motherwell, scoring in each of his last two league appearances. Contrasting yarns between then but Old still needs to be here, having impressed in recent All Whites appearances with his busy efforts on the left wing (hot take: there is a world in which Randall one day overtakes Old… he’s a lot further back in his career path but Old’s kinda stalled as he tries to fill in the gaps around his finishing and defensive mahi, things which Randall is more well-rounded with - but if that ever happens it won’t be before the World Cup, which Ben Old will absolutely be part of, and contributing at, as long as he’s fit). It’ll probably be Garbett and Just starting in the wide spots... or maybe Garbett through the middle with Singh out wide as we saw versus Norway.
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