A 21-player All Whites squad has been named for September’s international friendlies against Mexico and the United States.
The matches will be played in Los Angeles and Cincinnati in early September.
Mexico (FIFA rank 17) and the USA (FIFA rank 16) will co-host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
The two high-profile friendlies will be the All Whites’ last games before starting OFC FIFA World Cup qualifying, where in October they will face Tahiti in Port Vila, Vanuatu, before returning home to Aotearoa New Zealand in November to face Vanuatu in Kirikiriroa Hamilton, and the OFC preliminary qualifier winner in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
Head coach Darren Bazeley has named a squad with 17 players based internationally, and five playing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The side features players based in three of the top five European leagues, with players from the English Premier League (Chris Wood), Italian Serie A (Liberato Cacace), and French Ligue 1 (Ben Old) represented.
New Zealand squad
Name/caps/goals/club
Kosta Barbarouses (60/7) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Joe Bell (18/1) Viking FK, Norway
Tyler Bindon (10/0) Reading, England
Matthew Garbett (22/3) NAC Breda, Netherlands
Michael Boxall (49/0) Minnesota United, United States
Liberato Cacace (25/1) Empoli FC, Italy
Max Crocombe (9/0) Burton Albion, England
Elijah Just (26/2) SKN St. Pölten, Austria (on loan from AC Horsens)
Ben Old (8/1) AS Saint Etienne, France
Alex Paulsen (1/0) Auckland FC, New Zealand (on loan from AFC Bournemouth)
Tim Payne (37/2) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Nando Pijnaker (19/0) Sligo Rovers, Republic of Ireland
Alex Rufer (13/0) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Oli Sail (9/0) Perth Glory, Australia
Sarpreet Singh (14/1), Unattached
Tommy Smith (55/2) Auckland FC, New Zealand
Marko Stamenić (21/1) Olympiacos, Greece (on loan from Nottingham Forest)
Finn Surman (5/1) Portland Timbers, United States
Ben Waine (16/5) Plymouth Argyle, England
Dalton Wilkins (3/0) Sønderjyske Fodbold, Denmark
Chris Wood (74/34) Nottingham Forest, England
Head coach Darren Bazeley has highlighted the importance of these two games ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup – OFC Qualifiers.
“Playing two games against two of the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosts, in one of the host countries, is the perfect motivation for our players ahead of starting our own journey to qualify for the tournament this October,” he said.
“These are both two top sides but we need to be testing ourselves at this level so we are prepared for what we could face should we qualify for the World Cup.
“For the Mexico game, we are likely going to be facing a huge and passionate Mexican crowd, and for the USA game they could potentially have a new head coach in place, so these games will present new and interesting challenges for us which we will embrace as a team.
“We have seen a lot of high-profile transfers for our players over the last few months, so it will be great to assemble as a squad and witness how our players are developing ahead of some significant games for the team.”
September fixtures
Game to be played Sunday September 8, 2024 (NZT)
Mexico v New Zealand
Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, California, 1pm (NZT)
Game to be played Wednesday September 11, 2024 (NZT)
United States v New Zealand
TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio, 11am (NZT)
October fixture
Game to be played on Friday October 11, 2024
FIFA World Cup 2026 – OFC Qualifier
New Zealand v Tahiti
VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 3pm (NZT)
November fixtures
Game to be played on Friday November 15, 2024
FIFA World Cup 2026 – OFC Qualifiers
New Zealand v Vanuatu
FMG Stadium Waikato, Kirikiriroa Hamilton, 7.30pm
Game to be played on Monday November 18, 2024
New Zealand v OFC Qualifier Round One Winner
Stadium to be announced, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland
This story was first published on August 23, 2024.
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