Source: Radio New Zealand
Kosta Barbarouses was named in Darren Bazeley’s 26-strong All Whites squad for the FIFA Football World Cup. PHOTOSPORT
All Whites forward Kosta Barbarouses knows the heartbreak of missing out on a Football World Cup squad, and now the happiness and relief of finally making it 16 years later.
Barbarouses has “no regrets” about his football journey, that has wound from Wellington to Western Sydney, including stops in Greece and Russia, and five different A-League clubs.
Now, his inclusion in coach Darren Bazeley’s 26-man squad for next month’s Football World Cup is reward for that persistence.
Barbarouses came agonisingly close to selection for the All Whites’ 2010 World Cup squad – so close that his boot sponsor had already prepared personalised World Cup boots, before then-coach Ricki Herbert finalised his team.
“I’ve even got the World Cup boots from Nike, personalised as well, and I never went,” the 36-year-old said. “I’ve still got those as an heirloom.”
This year’s version of the boots will mean even more to Barbarouses, who heard about his call-up for the tournament in North America while on school pick-up duty.
“I haven’t seen them yet, but now instead of my name, I’ve got my kids’ names on them, so I’m excited for those.”
Barbarouses described his club season with A-League wooden-spooners Western Sydney Wanderers as “disappointing”, but he never doubted his value to the national team.
“I always knew I was doing well for the national team, but obviously, you want to do well week to week and, honestly, I have been very disappointed.”
Barbarouses said the March window, when the All Whites played Finland and Chile in the FIA Series in Auckland, was crucial to pushing his case for a place in the World Cup squad. That period co-incided with him losing his starting role at club level.
“I’ll give myself a little bit of credit that I was able to stay professional and stay fit, and perform like I did in the March window,” he said. “I think that helped give [Bazeley] and probably the staff a lot of trust in me.”
After the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the All Whites fell short of qualification three straight times – with Barbarouses part of each failed campaign. The forward has played 31 World Cup qualifiers dating back to 2008.
“Being selected in the final squad feels great, to be honest, and it’s been a long and exciting four years full of ups and downs, and almost there now.”
Having booked his ticket, Barbarouses wants to get on the park, when the All Whites play Iran, Egypt and Belgium during the group stage.
Chris Wood and the All Whites celebrate qualifying for the 2026 Football World Cup. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz
With an injury to captain and leading goalscorer Chris Wood this year, Barbarouses has shared a role up front with Ben Waine.
“I would like to think I’m ready to play and I want as much of a playing role as possible, as I think everyone would.
“I think, even the past couple of windows, it’s clear to see that I’m well and truly up to it, and up for it as well.
“I’d love to see – like everyone in our country would – Chris Wood be there and scoring the goals for us, and I’ll be ready to support him and the team, whether that’s starting, coming on for 45 minutes, 10 minutes, five minutes.
“I’ll be ready and I’ll be ready to perform.”
For the 26 players selected, there has been celebrations.
Barbarouses’ family at the Strathmore fish and chip shop in Wellington were the first people he called with the news.
“Obviously, mum, dad, brothers, aunties, uncles, everyone’s just ecstatic.
“They know how hard I work, as do all of the boys, but they’ve seen my journey firsthand, so they’re very proud and excited for what’s to come in the next six weeks.”
While some players celebrated, others were left devastated.
Like Barbarouses in 2010, former Wellington Phoenix teammate Bill Tuiloma narrowly missed out on selection.
Tuiloma returned to New Zealand from US Major League Soccer in an attempt to secure more playing time and impress Bazeley, but ultimately fell short.
Wellington Phoenix player Bill Tuiloma did not make the World Cup squad. Photosport
When Alex Rufer, Sarpreet Singh and Tim Payne had finished their face-to-face conversations with Bazeley on Wednesday, they knew they were capping off a tough club season with the Phoenix with something bigger to look forward to, but they were also “hurting” for Tuiloma.
“Unfortunately, Bill was left out,” Rufer said. “Bill is a very, very good player and an extremely strong person.
“We spent some time with him and it’s normal you’re going to be hurting when you don’t make the team, but I think he’s in a good headspace, and he’s still going to train and keep ticking over, because anything can happen.
“He’ll most likely be over in America, back home with his family and who knows? He’s still got that mentality to keep ticking over, and make sure that he’s ready and available, if need be.”
The All Whites can make changes to their squad before the tournament, should any injuries occur.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand