All Whites suffer late heartbreak against Australia after debutant Max Balard’s 87th minute winner
Saturday, 6 September 2025
At GIO Stadium, Canberra: Socceroos 1 (Max Balard 87’) All Whites 0. HT: 0-0.
The All Whites have experienced late heartbreak in game one of the Soccer Ashes after Australia debutant Max Balard scored in the 87th minute to snatch a dramatic 1-0 win in Canberra on Friday night.
The midfielder’s late winner was a sucker punch as the All Whites had been the better team for most of the match, outshooting Australia nine to five.
Momentum changed after Darren Bazeley withdrew the returning Ryan Thomas and All Whites captain Chris Wood in the 63rd minute to manage their minutes and counterpart Tony Popovic threw caution to the wind by unleashing Australia’s exciting young talents.
After a run of seven straight losses dating back to 2002, the All Whites were hanging on for the draw in the closing stages, and even brought on a third centre back in Finn Surman, but they were unable to see the game out.
The big moment came with three minutes left in regular time.
Mo Toure entered the penalty area from the left and found an unmarked Balard, who picked out the bottom right corner of New Zealand’s goal with a low-driven finish.
The former Central Coast Mariners player had only been on the field a matter of minutes and was making his first senior appearance for Australia.
Balard dropped off the shoulder of Callum McCowatt and Alex Rufer was too slow to react.
The match-winner sprinted off to the corner in celebration as the ball nestled into the goal while numerous All Whites’ players slapped their hands against their faces in disbelief.
“It’s disappointing to concede late,” Bazeley said after the game. “I thought we played very well.
“I thought we were very good in possession and created some good chances but ultimately we needed to have that moment and score a goal.
“It’s tough for the guys. We put a lot into this game and everyone knew how big it was.”
Until Balard’s late winner, the best chances of the game had fallen the All Whites’ way.
They had bossed the first half but their dominance wasn’t reflected in the score.
Sarpreet Singh put Wood through one-on-one with goalkeeper Paul Izzo but the New Zealand captain rushed his shot from the edge of the penalty area under pressure from Alessandro Circati and Izzo made the crucial save.
Wood was denied by Izzo again before halftime after McCowatt brought down a clever ball over the top from Thomas and laid it off for his captain to shoot.
Thomas was a class above in his first appearance for his country since 2019 after being plagued by long-term knee problems, controlling the tempo of the game in the first and seizing on heavy Australia touches.
His performance alongside Joe Bell at the base of the midfield was easily the biggest positive from an All Whites’ perspective.
But the first-half misses came back to haunt the visitors when the Balard struck at the death.
The big picture
The wait continues, for a win and a goal against Australia. The All Whites have lost their last eight games against the Socceroos and they have failed to score in their last five.
What’s next
The two teams will now travel to New Zealand for game two of the Soccer Ashes at Go Media Stadium in Auckland on Tuesday night — the scene of the All Whites’ last win against Australia in 2002.
Left back Francis de Vries could be in doubt for the second game after hyper-extending his knee while challenging for the ball in the second half.
If de Vries was ruled out, it would leave the All Whites light on left back options as incumbent Liberato Cacace had already been withdrawn from the squad, handing the Auckland FC player a rare start.