NZ Football chief Andrew Pragnell confident FIFA Peace Prize won't overshadow World Cup draw

Wednesday, 3 December 2025

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley reflects on the eight tough matches they've had to finish 2025.

New Zealand Football chief Andrew Pragnell is confident the awarding of the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize – potentially to American President Donald Trump – won't overshadow the draw for next year's World Cup later this week.

A seven-strong Kiwi delegation will fly out to the United States on Wednesday night, with All Whites coach Darren Bazeley set to be the most nervous of them, as he waits to find out the three teams his side will play at the tournament co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico next June.

The 42 teams to have already qualified – and the 22 teams chasing the last six spots – will learn their fate during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, that is due to start at 12pm on Friday local time (6am Saturday NZ time).

It was announced in early November by FIFA president Gianni Infantino that it would also be the setting for the first awarding of the global governing body's Peace Prize, to be given out annually to individuals who have “helped to unite people all over the world in peace and consequently deserve a special and unique recognition“.

The announcement of the prize came four weeks after the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 to Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado. Infantino had been among those backing Trump for that award, writing on Instagram the day before it was handed out that he “definitely deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his decisive actions' in the Israel-Palestine ceasefire.

It is widely anticipated the FIFA Peace Prize will be awarded to Trump, who has falsely claimed to have ended eight wars in his two terms as president. Infantino has sought to build a close relationship with the controversial and sometimes volatile leader, repeatedly visiting him in the Oval Office in the lead-up to next year's tournament. Asked after he announced the creation of the prize whether it was headed Trump's way, he replied: 'On December 5th, you will see“.

The Athletic reported on Tuesday (NZ time) that there had been no consultation with the rest of FIFA's leadership prior to Infantino's announcement of the Peace Prize or afterwards regarding the criteria for awarding it. It also reported that Human Rights Watch had questioned FIFA about the criteria for the prize and received no response.

Asked on Tuesday whether the awarding of the prize could overshadow or distract from the draw itself, which is likely if it is indeed given to Trump, Pragnell said: “In terms of social commentary, there will be a whole load of global views on that.

“The reality of the World Cup, and you see it regardless of which host it is around the world, it shines the world's spotlight on that country and therefore any issues in any host country get the full spotlight on them.

“I think it's inevitable there will be plenty of commentary on it, but most of the football world will quickly turn to the draw results, and that's obviously what we're there for.”

Asked if awarding a global peace prize was something FIFA should be doing, given the tenuous link to football, Pragnell said: “At the end of the day, it's the prerogative of the organization to make those types of decisions. If that's what the powers that be choose to do, then so be it.

“I'm certainly going for the draw. I'm going to see who we're drawn up against.”

New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell and All Whites coach Darren Bazeley at the announcement of the latter’s appointment in July 2023.

‘Who do you want?'

It's the question Bazeley has been asked over and over again since the last international window ended three weeks ago: Who does he want the All Whites to draw?

Never mind that he has no say in the matter.

“I don't get tired of it,” he said on Tuesday. 'It's a normal question to ask a coach going into a World Cup draw, but the answer is the same – we haven't really got a favourite.

“There's definitely tougher groups, potentially, than others. We know we're going to get a really big team in pot one and then when you look through pot two and three … there's really good teams and there's good teams. There's no bad teams at a World Cup.'

Bazeley said he had spent a bit of time the online draw simulators which predict how things might unfold at the click of a button.

Auckland FC left back Francis de Vries is hoping to draw a European powerhouse after playing his way into World Cup consideration.

“I refreshed it quite a few times when I didn't like the draw or I didn't like the results it showed me,” he quipped.

“That's the fun aspect to it. I'm sure a lot of people have been looking at what potential draws there are.“

The point at which Bazeley's preferences will crystallise will be when proceedings arrive at pot four, which could be more than an hour after the start of the ceremony.

At that stage, there will be 12 three-team groups, some of which New Zealand might not be able to be drawn into as a result of geographical restrictions. Once that is factored in, there is likely to be a clear ideal outcome.

The All Whites head into next year’s tournament seeking their first World Cup win, after three losses in 1982 and three draws in 2010.

All eyes will be on who they are drawn with from pot three – the team they should have the best chance of beating.

“There's not a lot that really scares you,” Bazeley said of the teams in pot three – and even some of the teams in pot two.

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Norway stand out as a notable exception in pot three. While the All Whites did draw 1-1 with them in Oslo in October, the home team didn’t have their star Premier League striker Erling Haaland and rested several other starters on that occasion.

Whatever group Norway land in is likely to be labelled the group of death, if there can be such a thing in a tournament where eight of the 12 third-placed teams will advance to the knockout stage – an achievement the All Whites believe is within their grasp.

“What we do know,” Bazeley said, “is that if everybody's fit and available, and we perform to our best on the day, we can compete with a lot of these teams.”

How the draw works

The All Whites are in pot four as the lowest-ranked team to have qualified so far and will be drawn with one team from each of the other three pots.

Each group must have at least one team, but no more than two, from Europe, and no more than one from each other continent (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and South America).

Stuff will have live coverage of the draw from 5.30am on Saturday.

Pot one: Mexico (ranked 15th in the world), Canada (27), United States (14), Spain (1), Argentina (2), France (3), England (4), Brazil (5), Portugal (6), Netherlands (7), Belgium (8), Germany (9)

Pot two: Croatia (10), Morocco (11), Colombia (13), Uruguay (16), Switzerland (17), Japan (18), Senegal (19), Iran (20), South Korea (22), Ecuador (23), Austria (24), Australia (26)

Pot three: Norway (29), Panama (30), Egypt (34), Algeria (35), Scotland (36), Paraguay (39), Tunisia (40), Ivory Coast (42), Uzbekistan (50), Qatar (51), Saudi Arabia (60), South Africa (61)