All Whites at the 2026 FIFA World Cup: Analysing The Squad
Most of Darren Bazeley’s World Cup squad has been a foregone conclusion for a long time. At least 15-20 players have been as good as guaranteed, fitness permitting, since the moment that the team confirmed their qualification... and since then the likes of Jesse Randall and Callan Elliot have made compelling cases to join them. By the time Bazeley actually sat down with his assistants to formalise the list, there were probably only two or three difficult decisions to make.
Now, we’ve all got our opinions on who deserves to be there, what attributes should be prioritised, how much emphasis to put on club form, et cetera, so Bazeley was bound to annoy someone no matter who he picked. But let’s keep things in perspective and remember that we’re talking about the last few spots in the squad here, the players least likely to take the field. Compared to other World Cup nations that’s about as settled as it gets.
Ponder for a second how far we’ve come. Back in 2010, Ricki Herbert picked a 23-man World Cup squad with nine A-League players (six from the Nix), four NZ National Leaguers, one currently unattached dude, and only four guys who’d been playing top flight football outside of Australasia the season just gone: Ryan Nelsen (Blackburn), Winston Reid (Midtjylland), Michael McGlinchey (Motherwell), and Andy Boyens (New York Red Bulls)... two of whom (McGlinchey and Boyens) didn’t even see gametime in South Africa. Obviously others had played top flight overseas footy in the past, and more would do so in the future, but that’s a snapshot of where things were at 16 years ago. These days we’ve got an entirely professional squad with guys in top flight leagues who didn’t even make it.
So with no further ado, and with a shout out to Elemeno P’s 2003 pop-punk classic Verona, let us get down to business and recognise the comrades who’ll be representing Aotearoa at the 2026 FIFA World Cup...
The Debatables
The big talking point is the inclusion of Tommy “The Cultural Architect” Smith despite only playing 17/46 games for Braintree Town as they were relegated from the English fifth tier and having earned his most recent cap in September 2024. Most folks would probably have preferred someone like Bill Tuiloma or George Stanger there instead. Or dump that last defender altogether and take Owen Parker-Price or an extra winger (Logan Rogerson, Luke Brooke-Smith). Frankly, Isaac Hughes deserves it more than Smith based on form and levels. Heck, maybe even Luka Vicelich if we’re going down that path - we’ll have to save the ‘first kiwi father and son to play at a World Cup’ yarns for another four years... although we can get started on the ‘first kiwi mother and son’ ones thanks to the Bindon whanau.
The case against Tommy Smith is obvious. Even if you discount the standard that he’s currently employed at and trust that his overall career experience (playing almost 250 times in the English Championship) overrides that, the fact is he’s barely been able to stay on the pitch this season due to injury. There’s nothing about his form that merits inclusion. Except that this isn’t about form. It’s about how to get the most value from the 26th ranked dude in the squad. He’s not going to play barring some freak scenario where four other centre-backs all get injured and even then they’d probably just put Tim Payne or Francis de Vries into the middle ahead of Smithy. But what about all the stuff that happens outside the games?
The case for Tommy Smith is that he’s been to a World Cup before. He’s hugely experienced for club and country and holds massive mana within this group. He’s effectively a go-between for his teammates and his coaches. That begs the question of whether he could have been included as a travelling reserve or as part of the coaching staff, freeing up this spot for someone else, though Bazeley’s perspective seems to be that for Smithy to perform the role he wants of him he needs to be available to play. Picking him as a staff member would mean that he’s a staff member, altering his relationship to the rest of the team and defeating the whole purpose of having him there.
It’s possible that Baze is overthinking things seeing as there’s no shortage of leadership here. Chris Wood, Kosta Barbarouses, Michael Boxall, and Tim Payne have all earned 50+ caps. Chris Wood’s been to a World Cup before. As have a few of the assistant coaches (Tony Readings as Football Ferns coach, Simon Elliott as a 2010 All Whites). Wood, Boxall, Payne, De Vries, Bell, Rufer, Surman, and Thomas are all captains/vice captains/occasional captains for their club teams (as is Tommy Smith). But it’s Darren Bazeley job to pick the squad so he can do what he wants – and it’s not like there isn’t logic in what he’s trying to do. That “cultural architect” phrase is Bazeley’s own. He puts a huge emphasis on team culture, it’s at the heart of everything his All Whites do, and Tommy Smith is seen as a key figure in that.
And although it wouldn’t have come into consideration for his selection, there is a pretty cool spinoff to this which is that Braintree Town, a humble non-league club that has existed for more than 125 years, which just got relegated to the sixth tier of English football, is about to get a very significant financial windfall for having a player at the World Cup... not to mention the pride of seeing their name on a World Cup squad list.
It’s easy to get stuck in our own bubble and miss the stories that these players also provide for their clubs. A decent number of dudes in this squad will be their club’s first ever World Cup representatives. That’s true of Braintree Town (Smith) same as it’s true of Peterborough (Garbett) and Auckland FC. Ben Waine will be the second active Port Vale player to rep at the World Cup (Chris Birchall played for Trinidad & Tobago in 2006), same with Libby Cacace at Wrexham (also following the footsteps of a 2006 T&T player - Dennis Lawrence). Could be others but it’s a tricky thing to research... in part because some of these guys won’t even be at these same clubs when the World Cup takes place, particularly loanees Paulsen, Singh, and Bindon. Crocombe is an impending free agent and Jesse Randall has already announced a move. Others might be courting at transfer fee moves, though that’ll probably happen afterwards.
The third-choice goalkeeping spot has been a point of contention for a wee while. At various times during the last few years we’ve seen Michael Woud, Oli Sail, Nik Tzanev, Kees Sims, and Henry Gray all brought into squads – granted, you have to go back to November 2023 to find an example of anyone other than Alex Paulsen or Max Crocombe actually playing (that was Woud in a 2-0 loss to Greece). Again, this is a position that’s not going to see game time so what do you want out of a GK3? The good news is that all of those guys (all goalkeepers in general, to be fair) have spent time as reserves whose job it is to stay ready, push and prepare the starter, and maintain a selfless attitude to put in extras after training when required.
That’s a good reason why Henry Gray, the least recognised of that contingent, could have shot up the ranks because although he’s never played for Ipswich Town’s first team he has served as the GK3 on matchdays many times including while they were a Premier League team. He might get to do it again next season now that they’re back in the Prem. Nik Tzanev just spent six months at Huddersfield Town doing that exact job in League One while Kees Sims has been a back-up in the Swedish top flight for the last couple of years, working at a higher level than anyone else beyond Crocombe and Paulsen. Michael Woud was a backup in Japan and for Auckland before finally getting a shot this season. Even Oli Sail, who only played one game before being injured in 2025-26, seems to hold similar cultural territory to Smith in many people’s eyes. But in the end, Bazeley simply went with the in-form option.
Michael Woud made one horrendous mistake that led to him being dropped for Sail earlier in the A-League season for Auckland FC, even if his punishment only lasted 70 minutes before Sail’s injury restored him. Up until then he’d been a perfectly decent ALM goalkeeper and ever since then he’s been one of the best going around. A perfect response to previous criticism. Sims also made a high-profile mistake recently that rocked his standing at GAIS, clearly that didn’t help his cause... however a bigger hurdle was him being an uncapped 23yo. Some would prefer that spot being given to someone with future number one potential – like Sims or Gray – but Bazeley likes to keep it steady with his veterans. That’s part of this cultural architecture stuff. Plus Woud’s been playing great... and he’s also been playing a lot...
League Games Played by NZ Goalkeepers In The Last 12 Months
Michael Woud (Auckland FC) – 26
Alex Paulsen (Lechia Gdansk, Poland) – 23
Max Crocombe (Millwall, England) - 23
Henry Gray (Harrogate Town) - 18
Kees Sims (GAIS, Sweden) - 10
Oli Sail (Auckland FC, NZ/AUS) – 1
Probably not a coincidence that the three guys atop that list are the three guys who’ve been picked. Max Crocombe was given the #1 jersey in the squad naming although Alex Paulsen always likes those higher numbers anyway so don’t read too much into that. Don’t read too much into this next sentence either, because Crocombe’s arguably got the stronger case, but if AP ends up being the starting keeper then his existing relationship with Woud from Auckland FC last year comes into focus too.
The other point of contention was the inclusion Lachlan Bayliss. He’s had a tremendous breakthrough season with the Newcastle Jets... although much of that was crystallised within a five-game stretch through January and February were he logged five goals and two assists. He’s only got one assist total in the other 20 matches that he’s played this term. However he’s part of a winning team and has enough positional flexibility to cover multiple areas of the park. He’s best as an attacking midfielder yet can do a fine job wider or deeper if required. Chuck in a promising couple of cameos in the last tour, as well as Bazeley’s knowledge of him from the last Olympics, and that’s ultimately what has tipped the scales for him.
The other options there would have included Owen Parker-Price, who as a regular starter in the Swedish top flight is one of the harshest absentees. His problem is that while he does have similar flexibility to Bayliss, he’s more of a central midfield specialist these days. Cam Howieson’s had some nice performances lately but wouldn’t have been considered ahead of Box Office Bayliss or OPP.
This spot could have been used on a forward instead, with Andre de Jong, Logan Rogerson, and Luke Brooke-Smith among those to miss out. Each brings something unique to the table. In ADJ’s case it’s too unique because Bazeley has picked him on several recent tours but struggled to find ways to use him, even while Chris Wood was out. He just doesn’t quite fit... and he’s not playing much since his move to Orlando Pirates either. Rogerson’s had a down season for AFC and has been lapped by Jesse Randall, though a natural right-winger would have been a handy addition. Brooke-Smith had bolter potential but simply hasn’t been given the runway at the Wellington Phoenix to make his case. Thus Lachie Bayliss it is.
Those That Missed Out
Back in 2010, Kosta Barbarouses was the unluckiest jerry to find himself without a boarding ticket. As recently as a year ago he still reckoned that had something to do with having left the Wellington Phoenix one year earlier while Ricki Herbert was coaching both teams. Hence it was very weird that he repeated that act one year out from another World Cup by leaving the Nix to join Western Sydney Wanderers where he collected a wooden spoon and found himself out of the line-up by the end of the season... though a vintage performance in the win vs Chile in March sealed any doubts about his presence with the national team. Sixteen years later he’s getting his redemption.
There probably isn’t going to be a 16-year wait for the next World Cup appearance with Oceania now holding automatic entry. That’s good news for 31yo Bill Tuiloma who shapes as the Kosta Barbarouses of this cycle even though he did the opposite thing by joining the Wellington Phoenix six months out. In that stint with the Nix he played 14 games which is more than he’d gotten in the previous two combined years with Charlotte FC in MLS (12). He was decent for the Nix but Nando Pijnaker has been better for Auckland FC and with Tommy Smith’s inclusion that meant no room for Billy T, a rare case of a reliable veteran who didn’t make the cut (most of the other cuts were players with limited international experience). Tuiloma was a regular this time four years ago but Tyler Bindon and Finn Surman have debuted in that time and Tuiloma’s lack of games in America had already put him on the selection skids.
Having said that, Smithy’s selection should really be viewed as its own thing rather than him being taken as a centre-back ahead of Tuiloma. When Bazeley described it, he effectively said he wanted two players in every position plus a third goalkeeper, a third striker, an extra midfield utility, and Tommy Smith. The fact that he’s a central defender is irrelevant since he’s here for qualities beyond his his playing attributes – if he was a striker he’d still have gotten the same gig (late-career Rory Fallon previously served a similar purpose during Bazeley’s early days as national team assistant).
Other experienced guys who missed out include: Cam Howieson who has been doing a fine job for AFC lately but hasn’t played against a top-100 ranked international team for close to four years; Storm Roux who is a reliable A-League veteran but doesn’t have anywhere near the attacking fizz of Payne or Elliot at right-back even if he has played a bit of AWs footy recently; Nik Tzanev who missed out to Michael Woud in the GK3 stakes after Baze and the staff opted for the bloke who has been playing and is in good touch instead; and perhaps guys like Andre de Jong and Moses Dyer fit in this category too... ADJ hasn’t kicked on after his transfer to Orlando Pirates nor has he made enough of his All Whites opportunities recently while Dyer is in hot form in Cambodia (and in Ireland and Canada before that) but it’s too low of a level to unseat Barbarouses or Waine and you have to go back to 2018 for the last time Dyer played for the All Whites so that was never gonna happen despite his copious highlights.
James McGarry is someone they tried in recent windows while Cacace was absent but overtaking Cacace and FDV was never in the tea leaves... let alone with Ben Old now providing superb cover in that position. Same deal for Sam Sutton despite both McG and Sutts having had pretty solid ALM campaigns. And while the bro Dalton Wilkins has talent to exceed all of them playing in the Danish top flight... he’s always injured. In fact, he’s currently injured again, keeping him in the same international purgatory that Ryan Thomas once occupied. Niko Kirwan’s never really been able to rise above Italian third tier footy which has allowed others to overtake him, doubt we see him in an AWs squad again. Max Mata has had too many injuries. Resurgent Kosta & Waine stuff in recent seasons would have knocked Mata off the edge anyway but he’s yet to command a starting spot at St Patrick’s Athletic so it doesn’t even get to that point. Logan Rogerson was overtaken by Jesse Randall during these past 12 months and there was never space for both of them.
What about the younger, less experienced fellas? That’s not really Bazeley’s operative mode, as we saw with his goalkeeping selections where the relevant candidates were split into youth (Kees Sims and Henry Gray) vs experience (Michael Woud and Nik Tzanev) and he opted for the safety first pick with Woudy. Sims is in a higher calibre league, he’s got future number one potential (as does Gray) which isn’t the case for Woud or Tzanev... but that’s fine. Bazeley’s got his way of doing things and at least he’s consistent with it. All four of those guys have been in squads over the past two years so they’ve had a good look at each of them within the environment, everyone’s had a chance. Another coach may have seen it differently but in Bazeley’s eyes it’s just a wee bit too early for Sims and Gray this time around. Understandable.
Luke Brooke-Smith is a rare player outside the squad who could have offered something unique. But Baze himself confirmed what we could all already see – he just didn’t do enough over the past season for the Wellington Phoenix. Arguably that was down to a lack of opportunity rather than performance but let’s be honest it was always a long shot for a 17yo to make it. Tyler Bindon is the youngest player selected at 21yo.
Lots of other Phoenix dudes are in a similar boat. Corban Piper is fun but there’s no room, Isaac Hughes is developing really well but there are better options in his position right now, Matt Sheridan needs to pick a position before national team convos will swing in his direction (right-back is the one with the clearest path for him – that’s where Greenacre usually put him for the Reserves and it’s how he used him late last season in the ALM). Auckland FC’s younger crop - guys like Luka Vicelich, Van Fitzharris, Finn McKenlay, and even Liam Gillion might still count (though he’s at least been capped) – are on the right trajectory but let’s not get carried away. They’ve gotta establish themselves at their clubs before they can do anything beyond merely dreaming about full-strength national team squads.
Other than the goalkeepers and a couple of A-League notables, the two guys with genuine high-level professional credentials who’ve missed out are George Stanger and Owen Parker-Price. Both have been in squads in the past year. Stanger didn’t play, OPP did get capped with a couple bench cameos. It’s been a tough season for Stanger battling relegation for Kilmarnock going in and out of the team with a managerial change in the middle. But he’s finishing the term very strongly in the same Scottish Premiership that Elijah Just has been dominating. He’s surely going to become a regular figure for the national team in due course. Alas, he’s a centre-back in a team with huge depth in that position and the fact that he couldn’t get on the pitch in multiple tours last year never boded well for him. At 25 years old, he should be hitting his prime right around the 2030 World Cup.
Owen Parker-Price’s omission had more to do with his position. He also left his run pretty late, only joining Örgryte midway through last year after spending many seasons in the lower leagues of Sweden with Declan Edge at Torslanda. Once upon a time he was right there alongside McCowatt, Just, and Pijnaker in that generation of Ole Academy prospects. Things have happened quickly for him since that transfer, winning promotion to the top flight and starting every game since... he’s a wonderful technical player who always looks to play forward, someone who would understandably have flown under the radar for a lot of kiwi fans. His problem is that he’s more of a deeper midfielder. He can do the job further forward or out wide but ultimately Darren Bazeley (correctly) determined that Lachie Bayliss offers more natural cover in those areas. Pity there wasn’t room for both... but, like Stanger, 27yo OPP will be an even better player in four years.
Here’s a shadow squad of players who didn’t make the cut...
GK – Kees Sims, Henry Gray, Nik Tzanev
DEF – Bill Tuiloma, George Stanger, Isaac Hughes, Storm Roux, Niko Kirwan, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Matt Sheridan, Sam Sutton, James McGarry, Dalton Wilkins
MID – Owen Parker-Price, Cam Howieson, Fin Roa Conchie, Matt Dibley-Dias
FWD – Andre de Jong, Max Mata, Moses Dyer, Luke Brooke-Smith, Corban Piper, Liam Gillion, Stipe Ukich
And as we ponder how deep these waters run, how about a team entirely comprised of uncapped players all of whom have professional contracts right now...
GK – Kees Sims/Henry Gray
RB – Matt Sheridan/Xuan Loke
CB – George Stanger
CB – Isaac Hughes/Luka Vicelich
LB – Adama Coulibaly
CM – Matt Dibley-Dias/Finn McKenlay
CM – Marley Leuluai/Jago Godden
RW – Stipe Ukich
CAM – Luis Toomey/Jay Herdman
LW – Nathan Walker
FWD – Corban Piper/Jonty Bidois
We’re not expecting more than two or three retirements after the World Cup. Smithy, obviously, and it’s hard to see Kosta Barbarouses hanging around much longer. Michael Boxall is the oldest guy in the squad but he’s as fit as ever so you never know with that guy. Chris Wood will absolutely be at the next World Cup aged 38 if fitness permits. Point being this extremely settled All Whites squad isn’t going to change very much in the coming years with the bulk of them only in their mid-20s so anyone coming through is going to have to really put in the hard yakka just to get noticed. Debuts won’t come lightly and nor should they.
The Depth Chart
As already mentioned, Darren Bazeley says he picked this squad seeking to have two players in every position with four extras on top of that: a third goalie, an extra striker, a midfield utility, and Tommy Smith. This is more or less what that looks like...
GK – Max Crocombe | Alex Paulsen | Michael Woud
RB – Tim Payne | Callan Elliot
CB – Finn Surman | Michael Boxall
CB – Tyler Bindon | Nando Pijnaker | Tommy Smith
LB – Liberato Cacace | Francis de Vries
CM – Marko Stamenić | Alex Rufer
CM – Joe Bell | Lachlan Bayliss
CAM – Ryan Thomas | Sarpreet Singh
RW – Callum McCowatt | Ben Old | Jesse Randall
LW – Elijah Just | Matt Garbett
CF – Chris Wood | Kosta Barbarouses | Ben Waine
It seems highly likely that we’re going to see Ryan Thomas in that attacking midfield spot. It’s not where he plays for PEC Zwolle, he’s much more a defensive-minded midfielder for them in the same way that Stamenić and Bell are used for their clubs. But that’s the whole point. This way it means Bazeley can get his very best players all on the pitch together... and it also means his team will have a bit more nous out of possession against Iran, Egypt, and Belgium where we’ll be considerable underdogs on all three occasions and probably won’t get to spent a whole lot of time on the ball. That trio of midfielders are also the best at retaining the ball for when we do win it. In more evenly matched games they’d prefer a number ten like Sarpreet Singh but this is a bloody World Cup we’re talking about, right? Gotta be pragmatic about it.
Of course there’s room to mix things up and the beauty of this squad is that there will be genuine game-changers on the bench. If Thomas can’t do three games in a row or if we’re desperate to win our third game to progress or something, perhaps Sarpreet Singh or Matt Garbett come into the starting team. If not then we’ll definitely see them around that 60-70 minute mark, same as guys like Ben Old and Jesse Randall. Or McCowatt and Just if they don’t both make the starting eleven. Just seems pretty locked-on but McCowatt could be rotated out if, for example, they perceive a particular opposition weakness out wide that Ben Old’s direct pace might be more useful against. Chris Wood doesn’t often do ninety minutes for the national team but World Cup games will be an exception – there is a 0% chance of him ever being subbed for tactical reasons. Only way he spends time on the bench is if the result is out of reach or if he gets injured. Not ideal for Kosta or Waineo though they’re both adept enough to also be options out wide.
That leaves us with three major decisions to be made about the first eleven:
Crocombe or Paulsen – Bazeley’s predilection for experience probably tips the scales slightly in Crocombe’s favour, as does the fact that since Paulsen’s debut the starts have been unevenly distributed with 16 to Crocs and 6 to AP. They’re operating at equivalent levels but there’s a huge form vs fitness debate going on here. Crocombe was doing career-best stuff with Millwall until they signed a new keeper and he hasn’t played for three months. Great form but minimal match fitness. Paulsen has been solid but unspectacular in Poland where he’s not keeping clean sheets and his save percentage has plummeted compared to what we got used to in the A-League. He’s match fit but not in prime form. Given that Crocombe has an extra-sensory ability to stay ready and take his chances when they come along, making an entire career out of doing exactly that, it may be that his match fitness isn’t relevant to Bazeley (and goalkeeping coach Paul Gothard). It’s one of those things where the interpretation will differ from coach to coach. This has been a ding-dong battle for two years and it’s still undecided.
Surman/Bindon/Boxall – Three superb central defenders and only room for two of them in the eleven. Bindon had some struggles settling into his loan spell at Sheffield United but by the end of the season was seen as one of their best performers – this from a 21yo in his first Championship campaign. Boxall has been injured lately and that might be the tipping factor but he was also an MLS All Star last year and (adductor complaint notwithstanding) he’s as fit as he’s ever been at age 37, offering a degree of veteran control that the other two can’t match. Finn Surman is straight-up one of the best defenders in MLS himself, regularly leading the way in stat categories like clearances and blocked shots. All three potential duos (Pijnaker and Smith are merely depth in this squad) have started at least four internationals together so they’re all trusted combinations and whoever doesn’t start will surely be lining up for closer’s duties if there’s a scoreline to protect with 15 mins to go. Same as with the goalkeepers, there’s no wrong answer here and it’s very possible that even the coach hasn’t made up his mind yet.
McCowatt or Another – Bazeley has dropped several hints about his preference for the Stam/Bell/RT midfield three which only leaves three forwards in the formation. Chris Wood will be one of them. Eli Just will surely be another, having started every non-OFC game they’ve played in the past two years except for a 3-0 loss to Mexico which was probably the team’s worst display in that time. Just has also scored in the two most impressive wins: 1-0 vs Ivory Coast & 4-1 vs Chile. Add in his amazing performances for Motherwell that have made him a prime transfer target for Celtic and Rangers and he’s gonna be there. The question is who fills that third spot. On form is should be McCowatt who has also tended to be involved in this team’s best displays, along with hitting double figure goals in Denmark this year (a goal-scoring achievement matched in only a handful of cases throughout NZ footballing history beyond the names Wood and Rufer). The consistent pick would be Sarpreet Singh who started every game in 2025 before being injured for the March window, though most of that was through the middle and his lack of recent football will count against him. Matt Garbett is a favourite of Bazeley, who made him captain at the last Olympics, and he’s coming off a strong season in England, albeit down in League One (he’s on transfer watch though). Ben Old offers width and pace. Jesse Randall offers width and pace and a bit more final product, balanced out by his lesser experience. Kosta Barbarouses and Ben Waine are in the team as back-up strikers but each has done enough mahi on the wings to be options. Lachlan Bayliss could be a smokey. Late game scenarios may even see Francis de Vries chucked wide on the left for his crossing. No shortage of options here.
Extras
Chris Wood has been named captain for the event, joining Steve Sumner and Ryan Nelsen as World Cup captains for the All Whites.
Chris Wood and Tommy Smith will be the first All Whites to attend multiple World Cups. Smith played every minute in 2010 while Woodsy was a substitute on all three occasions. Wood will be getting minutes here, Smith almost certainly not (unless the opportunity arises for Baze to get sentimental).
Simon Elliott will attend as an assistant coach after being a player in 2010. Ricki Herbert previously played and coached at a World Cup for New Zealand, in his case as the head coach. Tony Readings will have coached at a men's (assistant) and women's (head coach) World Cups.
Tyler Bindon becomes the first NZer to go to a World Cup whose parent also did the same (Jenny Bindon), while Alex Rufer follows Uncle Wynton from 1982. Jenny Bindon went to two World Cups with the Football Ferns (2007 & 2011) and is a current assistant coach with the women’s team so could be in line to follow the Simon Elliott example at their World Cup next year.
World Cup Squad Tiered by Experience
0-9 caps: Lachlan Bayliss (2), Alex Paulsen (6), Michael Woud (6), Callan Elliot (9), Jesse Randall (9)
10-29 caps: Finn Surman (17), Francis de Vries (17), Ben Old (22), Max Crocombe (22), Nando Pijnaker (23), Tyler Bindon (23), Alex Rufer (24), Ryan Thomas (25), Sarpreet Singh (26)
30-49 caps: Ben Waine (30), Callum McCowatt (30), Joe Bell (31), Liberato Cacace (35), Matt Garbett (36), Marko Stamenić (37), Elijah Just (42)
50+ caps: Tim Payne (50), Tommy Smith (56), Michael Boxall (61), Kosta Barbarouses (74), Chris Wood (88)
World Cup Squad Tiered by Age
Under 23yo: Tyler Bindon (21), Finn Surman (22)
23-28yo: Jesse Randall (23), Ben Old (23), Lachlan Bayliss (23), Alex Paulsen (23), Matt Garbett (24), Marko Stamenić (24), Ben Waine (24), Liberato Cacace (25), Elijah Just (26), Callan Elliot (26), Callum McCowatt (27), Joe Bell (27), Nando Pijnaker (27), Sarpreet Singh (27), Michael Woud (27)
28-33yo: Alex Rufer (29), Francis de Vries (31), Ryan Thomas (31), Tim Payne (32), Max Crocombe (32)
Over 33yo: Chris Wood (34), Tommy Smith (36), Kosta Barbarouses (36), Michael Boxall (37)
Shout out to the Ole Academy circa that Declan Edge era because that lot are responsible for six players in this squad – Garbett, Stamenić, Just, Pijnaker, McCowatt, and Thomas. That’s absolutely incredible for an independent academy not aligned with a professional club. Only narrowly missed out on adding Kees Sims and Owen Parker-Price to that list too.
There are eight players in this squad who came through the Wellington Phoenix Academy (Bell, Singh, Paulsen, Cacace, Surman, Waine, Old & Elliot) and 12 who have played A-League for the Phoenix at some stage (Payne, Boxall, Singh, Paulsen, Cacace, Rufer, Surman, Barbarouses, Waine, Old, McCowatt & Elliot). Impressively for a team that’s only two years old, there are also seven players here who have played for Auckland FC: De Vries, Paulsen, Pijnaker, Randall, Woud, Elliot & Smith.
Reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the beautiful game, this squad has players with heritage spanning: England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Netherlands, South Africa, Namibia, Cook Islands, Samoa, Serbia, Greece, France, USA, India, Switzerland... and, yes, Australia. Possibly more that haven’t been as widely reported.
In terms of hometowns, we’ve got a fair few Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurchers of course... but we’ve also got Palmerston North, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wānaka, Nelson, and Te Puke heartily represented. A fair few were born overseas (including to kiwi parents) but everybody in the squad played some form of junior football in Aotearoa with the exceptions of Max Crocombe (born in Auckland but moved to England at a young age) and Lachlan Bayliss (born and raised in Oz with a kiwi father).
All Whites Upcoming Fixtures
vs Haiti - Wednesday 3 June at 11.30am NZT (Friendly)
vs England - Sunday 7 June at 8am NZT (Friendly)
vs Iran – Tuesday 16 June 1pm NZT (World Cup Group G)
vs Egypt – Monday 22 June 1pm NZT (World Cup Group G)
vs Belgium – Saturday 27 June 3pm NZT (World Cup Group G)
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