Source: Radio New Zealand
All Whites training. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
All Whites v Colombia
Sunday, 16 November
Kick-off 1pm
Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
The All Whites will not have their strongest side for their biggest test of the year but players say belief has been building for years that they can compete with the world’s best.
Sunday’s game against world number 13 Colombia will be the highest ranked opponent the All Whites have played this year and they will be forced to face the challenge of the South Americans without their captain and leading goal-scorer, Chris Wood, as well as five other front-line players who are out injured.
The games against Colombia and Ecuador (19 November) are the last international friendlies the All Whites will play in 2025. There are two more international windows next year, in March and June, before the Football World Cup which kicks off on 11 June. So there is limited time for players to impress enough to secure their spot in New Zealand’s third ever world cup squad.
With injuries, managing work loads and unavailability, All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said during this world cup cycle he has yet to have all of the country’s best players on the park at the same time.
Since qualifying for the world cup in March the All Whites have played six matches for one win, one draw and four losses.
The win against Ivory Coast, a 1-0 victory in June at the Canadian Shield tournament in Toronto, was in some ways a turning point according to winger Eli Just.
“It absolutely gave us confidence but I think at the same time the journey we’ve been on as a team, we are not short of belief,” Just said.
“We’ve been feeling good for a long time and feeling confident.”
Scoring goals was something the All Whites were still working on and not having Wood available was a blow.
“We’ve got plenty of players who can do the job a little bit differently, obviously different profiles,” Just said of replacing Wood.
“In terms of my role, maybe not crossing it into the box as much, especially if it’s someone like Kosta [Barbarouses] in there, but now in general it is mostly the same style of play.
“There is a lot more opportunities with the ball that we need to be turning that good build up into chances, can we get balls into the box, how can we utilise the players we have. So always talking.”
Midfielder Joe Bell did not feel the pressure to be scoring goals in Wood’s absence, but recognised the goals needed to come from somewhere.
“We want to be converting our chances into goals. I think two tours ago, the last time I was on the pitch, we played Australia, we had a couple of really strong performances but we were unable to show that in the score line and we know when we get to the world cup that’s the point where it’s really going to matter.
“In an ideal world I think it’d be great to have some midfielders contributing to the goals… internally we feel like we’re kind of on the edge of clicking over there, we’re hitting a lot of metrics that we want to in terms of creating slightly more chances and especially when we have Woodsy up top and he’s fit and available, it’s a huge threat for us and it’s something that we should be making the most of.
“So it is a point of focus for us going into these games as well, even though we don’t have Woodsy.”
All White Joe Bell against the Socceroos. Photosport
This Football World Cup will be different
The South Americans were the last on the list for the All Whites to tick off this year ahead of next year’s expanded global tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
As one of the first teams to qualify, New Zealand Football were on a mission to get the All Whites playing teams from different confederations in the build-up.
Like all the players on Bazeley’s radar, Bell wants to be in the world cup squad.
He did not play in the last window against European opposition, Poland or Norway, but did get the full 90 minutes against Ivory Coast, Ukraine and twice against Australia.
Bell has played at age-group world cups – under-17 World Cup and twice at the under-20 World Cup – and the pursuit of place in the team for the senior tournament feels a little bit different to the 26-year-old.
“In some regards, yes, because obviously the tournament is the pinnacle of football, but at the same time, no, I think representing your national team at any age group is a huge honour.”
The 2026 world cup would be a “fantastic experience”.
“All the hard work we’re trying to put in now to get us set up for that.”
Bell plays his club football in Norway for Viking FK with the potential to be playing in the Champions League.
If Viking do get into the Champions League Bell said “for personal career that that’s a huge milestone”.
“It’s obviously a big step to take, but I’m really happy to be playing in a team that has those kinds of opportunities to be playing in those kinds of games as well.
“[Fellow All White] Marko Stamenic he’s played a lot of Champions League games now and I think it’s fantastic having more New Zealand players playing in those kind of tournaments and level of games.”
Playing at the top level will work in Bell’s favour with Bazeley.
“There’s been a clear recognition from New Zealand that we want to get more players playing at high levels.”
In the squad for this November window there are All Whites playing club football in 10 different countries.
“I do think having a slightly diverse cultural component to it helps us with understanding and going into these kind of games [against opposition from different regions].”
Bell has worn the captain’s armband for club and country, a role that he has adjusted to.
“I think the leadership stuff definitely comes with time. It takes a long time to find the way that you want to do it and I definitely found myself observing for a long time, but feeling slightly more confident now to take a little bit more voice in both locker rooms here with the national team and also at club too.”
Bell has a good feeling about the world cup and the road the team is taking to get there.
“I think we’re tracking really positively. Although the results have been a little bit up and down, I think we’ve been taking some really strong steps internally and I think that’s the most important thing, recognising that going into the world cup, we want to be the most well prepared.
“You want to be scoring goals, you want to be winning games, but I think there’s a strong feeling within the group that we’re taking steps forward each tour and hopefully that’s something we can replicate this time is around too.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
