Ben Old set to join growing All Whites core on road to 2026 FIFA World Cup

Sunday, 10 March 2024

Paul Temple first coached Ben Old at under-13 level in Auckland and has enjoyed watching him star for the Wellington Phoenix this season.

Ben Old is set to return to the All Whites for the first time since October 2022.
The midfielder has been in fine form for the Wellington Phoenix this season.
National team coach Darren Bazeley is set to unveil his 24-strong squad for two matches this month on Monday.

Ben Old is set to return to the All Whites for the first time since October 2022 as their journey towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup takes another step forward this month.

Coach Darren Bazeley will on Monday name his squad for the Winsunited Cup, where New Zealand will face Egypt and either Croatia or Tunisia in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates later this month.

The signs are positive for the inclusion of captain and star striker Chris Wood, who returned to training with Nottingham Forest this week after suffering a hamstring injury in late January.

While his club coach Nuno Espírito Santo has played down his chances of featuring in their trip to Brighton & Hove Albion this Sunday, Wood will be a strong chance to return when they visit Luton Town next Sunday.

Either way, the timing is ripe for him to use the pair of All Whites matches to return to full fitness, just like he did in November, playing 45 minutes in their loss to Greece and an hour in their 1-1 draw with the Republic of Ireland.

Ben Old has scored four goals and assisted three others for the Wellington Phoenix this A-League Men season.

Midfielder Matt Garbett is the other player who has been under an injury cloud in recent weeks, but he returned to action with his Dutch club NAC Breda on Friday after almost a month out and is set to take his place in Bazeley’s 24-strong squad.

Old has earned two All Whites caps to date – one at the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament in March 2022 and one in a friendly against Australia later this year.

The 21-year-old’s hot form for the table-topping Phoenix in A-League Men – including a pair of goals in last Sunday’s win over Adelaide United – has Bazeley eager to get him involved.

Old is viewed as a player on the same wavelength as Garbett, Joe Bell, Elijah Just, Callum McCowatt, Sarpreet Singh and Marko Stamenic, who are starting to form a core group of young midfielders ahead of the start of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup later this year.

With four goals and three assists to his name in the first 19 rounds this A-League Men season, there is every chance Old could earn his first All Whites start this month, with McCowatt, who started on the left of a front three in both matches in November, the player most likely to make way.

The rise of the Auckland product has been one of the stories of the season for the Phoenix, who host Sydney FC at Eden Park next week in their final match before the international window.

Former Phoenix academy head Paul Temple – now the coach of the club’s A-League Women team – brought Old down to Wellington, having first “signed him for my under-13 team at North Shore United – that was a while ago now”.

“I always knew that Ben had this amazing potential. He has such a great mentality towards improvement and getting better. He’s obsessed, almost, with getting better.

“Chiefy's given him that confidence and that backing and he's able to do go out and show what he can do and he's getting the reviews that he deserves.

“It's not a surprise to me. I think he was destined for this and hopefully he can keep going and help the team and keep pushing the team forward, because he's been playing fantastic. I'm really pleased for him.”

Old’s Phoenix team-mate Kosta Barbarouses is also expected to be recalled to the All Whites and make his first appearance in a squad since last March, after scoring 10 goals and setting up four others heading into round 20 this weekend.

The March international window is likely to come too soon for Marco Rojas, who only made his first start for Brisbane Roar last weekend, after joining them at the end of January. While uncapped Fulham youngster Matt Dibley-Dias is back playing for their under-21 team, he is also unlikely to be there.

After this month’s matches – the first at 7am on Saturday, March 23, NZ time; the second at the same time on Wednesday, March 27 or Tuesday, March 26, depending whether they win or lose – the All Whites will next be in action at the Oceania Nations Cup in Vanuatu in June.

After that will come a pair of friendlies, likely overseas, in September, with Oceania World Cup qualifying then beginning in October and November on home soil. It will come to a head next March, when one-leg semifinals and a final will take place in a central venue still to be determined.