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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.
Squad
New Zealand World Cup 2026 squad: the final selection
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GK: Max Crocombe (Millwall)
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GK: Alex Paulsen (Lechia Gdansk)
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GK: Michael Woud (Auckland FC)
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DF: Tim Payne (Wellington Phoenix)
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DF: Francis de Vries (Auckland FC)
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DF: Tyler Bindon (Sheffield United)
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DF: Michael Boxall (Minnesota United FC)
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DF: Liberato Cacace (Wrexham)
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DF: Nando Pijnaker (Auckland FC)
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DF: Finn Surman (Portland Timbers)
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DF: Callan Elliot (Auckland FC)
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DF: Tommy Smith (Braintree)
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MF: Joe Bell (Viking)
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MF: Matthew Garbett (Peterborough United)
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MF: Marko Stamenic (Swansea City)
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MF: Sarpreet Singh (Wellington Phoenix)
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MF: Elijah Just (Motherwell)
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MF: Alex Rufer (Wellington Phoenix)
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MF: Ben Old (Saint-Etienne)
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MF: Callum McCowatt (Silkeborg)
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MF: Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle)
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MF: Lachlan Bayliss (Newcastle Jets)
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FW: Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest)
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FW: Kosta Barbarouses (Western Sydney Wanderers)
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FW: Ben Waine (Port Vale)
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FW: Jesse Randall (Auckland FC)
Fixtures and results
Fixtures
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June 06, 2026: England vs New Zealand, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay, Unites States
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June 15, 2026: Iran vs New Zealand, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, United States
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June 21, 2026: New Zealand vs Egypt, BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
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June 26, 2026: New Zealand vs Belgium, BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
Results
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March 30, 2026: New Zealand 4-1 Chile, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
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March 27, 2026: New Zealand 0-2 Finland, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
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November 19, 2025: Ecuador 2-0 New Zealand, Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito, Ecuador
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November 16, 2025: Colombia 2-1 New Zealand, Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia
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October 14, 2025: Norway 1-1 New Zealand, Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway
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October 09, 2025: Poland 1-0 New Zealand, Stadion Narodowy, Warsaw, Poland
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September 09, 2025: New Zealand 1-3 Australia, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
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September 05, 2025: Australia 1-0 New Zealand, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Australia
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June 10, 2025: New Zealand 1-2 Ukraine, Stadion Miejski, Wrocław, Poland
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June 08, 2025: New Zealand 1-0 Ivory Coast, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
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March 24, 2025: New Caledonia 0-3 New Zealand, Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
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March 21, 2025: New Zealand 7-0 Fiji, Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
Manager
Who is New Zealand’s manager?
Darren Bazeley during the 2024 Olympics | 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 | 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.
