New Zealand World Cup 2026 squad: Darren Bazeley's final selection (original) (raw)

New Zealand World Cup 2026 squad: New Zealand pose for a team photo

New Zealand pose for a team photo (Image credit: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

The New Zealand World Cup 2026 will be the first to take part since 2010.

New Zealand qualified for World Cup 2026 thanks to a flawless OFC qualification campaign – but despite that, they won't be one of the favourites for the competition, with one of the weaker squads in the tournament.

New Zealand will face Belgium, Egypt and Iran in their group – but since securing their place in North America, the All Whites beat Ivory Coast but then lost seven of their next eight fixtures, drawing only with fellow World Cup qualifiers Norway in October.

The good news is that talismanic striker Chris Wood is fit and raring to go after a turbulent season fighting relegation with Nottingham Forest – and the 38-year-old will be vital if this group are going to reach the knockouts.

Several other New Zealand stars play their club football in England: goalkeeper Max Crocombe is at Millwall, left-back Liberato Cacace is at Wrexham and 36-year-old Tommy Smith is playing his football in the fifth tier with Braintree Town.

There are a couple of significant misses: Bill Tuiloma has almost 50 caps and won't be going to the tournament, while Logan Rogerson of Auckland FC has missed out, too.

It's going to be a tough ask for New Zealand to even pick up a point – but the experience could be invaluable for future tournaments.

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Squad

New Zealand World Cup 2026 squad: the final selection

Fixtures and results

Fixtures

Results

Group G standings

New Zealand are in Group G at World Cup 2026.

Manager

Who is New Zealand's manager?

New Zealand Under-23 coach Darren Bazeley looks on during a match against France at the Olympic Games in july 2024.

Darren Bazeley during the 2024 Olympics (Image credit: Getty Images)

New Zealand’s head coach since 2023 has been former Watford, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall defender Darren Bazeley, who finished his playing career with two New Zealand clubs.

Bazeley is part of the furniture at New Zealand’s FA, where he first worked in 2009 and has held several coaching roles at various age groups and was a natural choice to succeed former Walsall teammate Danny Hay.

The Northampton-born coach has won all of his World Cup qualifiers by at least three goals but results outside the OFC show just how tall a task he’s facing in the United States, Canada and Mexico in the summer.

Star player

Who is New Zealand's star player?

Chris Wood applauds the Nottingham Forest fans after his side's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea

Chris Wood applauds the Nottingham Forest fans after his side's 3-0 defeat to Chelsea (Image credit: Getty Images)

By the time the All Whites arrive at the World Cup in 2026, Chris Wood will stand alone as his country’s captain, most capped player and record goalscorer. At 33, the striker is still doing the business for club and country.

Wood scored nine times in qualifying, more than twice as many as the second-highest scorer. He found the net 20 times in the Premier League in 2024-25, helping Nottingham Forest qualify for European football.

Now established by some distance as his country’s best-ever footballer, Wood will be eager to make his mark on what’s likely to be his last World Cup. He was a substitute in all three games as a teenager in South Africa 16 years ago. Now it’s his turn.

Best XI

Coen Lammers is a veteran football writer for newspapers and magazines in his native Netherlands, as well as in Australia, and his adopted of country New Zealand where he has reported for most media outlets and was sport editor and deputy editor at the second paper in the country. He has worked on six FIFA World Cup finals since 1998, the most recent FIFA Women's World Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, as well as four Euros and three Olympic Games. Coen is currently touring with the inaugural OFC Pro League and is also a football historian, with two books and a documentary to his name. He still pretends to be 18-year-old left winger with his local masters team in Christchurch.