Football: All Whites weigh youth and experience in World Cup goalkeeping dilemma

Three men could wear the goalkeeping gloves for the All Whites at the Football World Cup, but the race to be the number one is shaping up as a duel between a 23-cap veteran and a rising star with the skills of an outfielder.

Alex Paulsen, Max Crocombe and Michael Woud are the goalkeeping union for New Zealand’s biggest games since 2010.

On departure for the global tournament Auckland FC shot stopper Woud conceded he is currently third in the pecking order and will play a support role in North America, leaving Paulsen and Crocombe to go head-to-head to get the starting place between the posts.

Woud last played for the All Whites in 2023 and after two-year gap where he was not in the frame for the national team he was on the bench for two matches in March.

Crocombe has the most international experience of the trio, having made his All Whites debut in 2018, three years after he was first selected in the senior squad.

Paulsen also had to wait a few years to make his debut in 2024. Since then, the 23-year-old, who is the youngest of the three keepers, has amassed seven caps for three clean sheets.

The road to the World Cup for the leading contenders

Paulsen was given the start by coach Darren Bazeley in New Zealand’s first warm up game against Haiti in Florida on Wednesday, before Crocombe came on at halftime in mass personnel changes.

The All Whites suffered a brutal 4-0 loss to Haiti a brutal 4-0 loss to the world number 83-ranked side, after trailing 1-0 at halftime.

The All Whites have one more warm up game against England on Sunday, but the players, and fans, will be most interested in who gets the nod for New Zealand’s opening game of the World Cup against Iran on 16 June.

Paulsen was in goal for the All Whites’ last game on home soil before the World Cup in March when they beat a South American opponent for the first time, with a 4-1 victory over Chile.

Prior to that Paulsen played in both games in the October international window last year, a 1-1 draw with Norway and a 1-0 loss to Poland.

Against three opponents from Oceania he has never conceded a goal.

In this World Cup cycle, Paulsen began his professional career at Wellington Phoenix, signed with English Premier League club Bournemouth, was controversially loaned to Auckland FC and then loaned to Lechia Gdansk in Poland.

After winning individual accolades in back-to-back seasons in the A-League for the two different clubs, Paulsen landed with Lechia Gdansk in August 2025 where the club had a goalkeeper crisis and financial issues.

Over his season-long loan Paulsen has missed just four games in his first stint in top European football.

“Definitely a character development type of season,” Paulsen said.

“Just trying to get used to the level of intensity and the fact that there’s a lot of players there that are high calibre players, and a lot of them are participating in the UEFA Conference League as well, so getting used to that type of level.”

Paulsen’s loan deal with Lechia Gdansk is up this month and then “who knows what could happen after the World Cup”.

“I think it’s definitely another opportunity for me to showcase my strength and to be the best version of myself as well and to kind of go back with the statement if I do get the opportunity to play at the World Cup to say to Bournemouth this is my abilities and what I’m capable of producing.”

Paulsen’s background in futsal contributed to his playing style, where he is comfortable with the ball at his feet and at playing out from the back.

Crocombe has made moves through the English football leagues in the last few years via Grimbsy Town and Burton Albion to where he is the only player from Championship side Milwall named in a World Cup squad this year.

It is a trajectory that Crocombe did not see coming but is part of the reason why he is part of Bazeley’s squad.

“I didn’t have a big goal to get up the divisions because each season that you approach, you just want to make the best of that year.

“But when it came to the end of the season, I kept feeling like it was a possibility to maybe push on and obviously want to keep testing myself, improve myself higher up the ladder.

“And those opportunities came my way, luckily.

“It’s another step up again for competing at the World Cup.”

The 32-year-old grew up in England and joined Milwall in July 2025. He played exactly half of the club’s games in the just completed Championship season and none in the play-offs.

Crocombe started the season on the bench, nine games in got his chance where he stayed in goal for 23 games before being benched again to see out the season.

He last played for club in February and for country in March against Finland.

Despite not playing as regularly as Paulsen, Crocombe has kept more clean sheets at club level.

Crocombe also kept out the African champions, Ivory Coast, nearly a year ago in a match that the All Whites often refer to as evidence they can get winning results against highly ranked sides.

“Even if I have a period on the bench, I’m going in [to matches] making sure that I’m ready to come off the bench if that’s necessary.

“I had that a couple of years ago at Burton Albion where I had to come off the bench after about 25 minutes and it stood me in good stead because I was ready and I went on and had a good game.

“I wasn’t overly flustered by the occasion on league one debut.”

Crocombe’s strengths are his save percentage, his towering physical presence in goal and his ability to get the launch the long ball.

The battle to be the number one goalkeeper is a face-off between different styles but the same mission to help New Zealand get out of the group stage at the World Cup for the first time.

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