Ryan Thomas to miss All Whites' FIFA World Cup warm-up matches, complicating midfield selection puzzle
Monday, 1 June 2026
Ryan Thomas is set to sit out both of the All Whites’ warm-up matches ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Joe Bell will sit out the first match, against Haiti in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday night (kickoff 12pm Wednesday NZ time).
He should feature in the second, against England in Tampa on Saturday afternoon (kickoff 8am Sunday NZ time).
The careful management of the pair is a new wrinkle in the biggest selection puzzle coach Darren Bazeley has to solve.
Ryan Thomas will sit out both of the All Whites’ warm-up matches ahead of the FIFA World Cup – a development that adds a new wrinkle to the biggest selection puzzle coach Darren Bazeley has to solve.
Joe Bell will also be wrapped in cotton wool and won’t be involved when New Zealand face Haiti at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday night (kickoff 12pm Wednesday NZ time), but is set to feature against England in Tampa on Saturday.
The two midfielders have been managing minor muscle issues – Thomas in a hamstring and Bell in a calf – but while he admits the situation is not ideal, Bazeley is confident the pair will both be fully fit for the All Whites’ World Cup opener against Iran in Los Angeles, which is still more than a fortnight away.
Thomas sat out the last two matches of the Dutch Eredivisie season after helping PEC Zwolle get clear of the relegation zone, while Bell missed four matches for Viking before coming into the All Whites’ pre-World Cup camp in Florida. Thomas has been following an individual programme over the past few days, while Bell has been training with the wider team.
Bazeley shared his plan for the pair with Stuff after a busy session in temperatures of around 32C in Boca Raton on Sunday morning local time (Monday NZ time) that had sweat pouring from players’ bodies.
Of Thomas, he said: “The medical department are managing him. He's on track to be fully fit in the build-up for the Iran game. This game is probably a little bit too early for him. If we push him too early, it might bring something back up, but he's in good place.
“He's done some good work the last two days on the pitch – running and ball work. Not quite enough to join back in with the group at this stage, but we've still got plenty of time before Iran, which is obviously what we're here for.”
Of Bell, he said: “[Viking] have been in contact with our medical department over the last three weeks. He came in with a programme to build up. He has pretty much trained fully the last two days, and then we’ve just managed him towards the end of sessions. We won't involve him in the Haiti game, but will look for him to be involved against England“.
Ever since Thomas returned to the national team fold last September, after almost six years away getting his knees right, the prospect of him combining with Bell and Stamenić – starters throughout Bazeley’s tenure – has remained just out of reach.
Injuries have meant the trio have spent just five minutes on the field together in the eight matches the All Whites have played in that time, in the second half of the 4-1 win over Chile in Auckland in March.
The closest they came to starting together was against Poland last October, where Bell was a late withdrawal, treading cautiously at a time when he and Viking were hot in pursuit of a historic Norwegian title they eventually sealed last December.
Said Bazeley of Thomas: “It's unfortunate he's probably not going to get a chance to push himself forward in these next two games and other people have got that opportunity, which doesn't help him, but he's a good player”.
With Thomas and Bell absent, Alex Rufer is in line to start alongside Marko Stamenić at the base of midfield against Haiti, with Lachlan Bayliss – the newest All White – also set to feature there.
Eli Just and Sarpreet Singh will likely be two of the attacking midfield trio ahead of them and behind captain Chris Wood, leaving Matt Garbett, Callum McCowatt and Jesse Randall fighting for one starting spot.
While the All Whites will be eager for a win over Haiti, who sit just two places ahead of them in the FIFA rankings, Bazeley has his eyes fixed firmly on the bigger picture.
“Every game we play matters,” he said. “We want to try and win every game. But ultimately, it's about Iran and Egypt and Belgium and the World Cup – that's why we're here.
“The plan is when we get to the build-up for Iran – four or five days out from the Iran game – we will have everybody fully fit, available to train, fully up for selection.”
Bazeley said he would use the match against Haiti – ranked two places higher in the world than the All Whites by FIFA – to give as many of his players a run as possible.
Attacking midfielder Ben Old could join Bell and Thomas in not being involved at all.
He arrived in Florida late on Saturday night after staying in France for his club AS Saint-Étienne’s ill-fated promotion playoff and will train with the team for the first time on Monday, after doing individual fitness work on Sunday.
If he does play against Haiti, it will only be off the bench.
All Whites – 2026 FIFA World Cup
Squad
Goalkeepers: Max Crocombe, Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud
Defenders: Callan Elliot, Tim Payne; Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Nando Pijnaker, Tommy Smith, Finn Surman; Liberato Cacace, Francis de Vries
Midfielders: Lachlan Bayliss, Joe Bell, Matt Garbett, Eli Just, Ben Old, Alex Rufer, Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenić, Ryan Thomas
Forwards: Kosta Barbarouses, Callum McCowatt, Jesse Randall, Ben Waine, Chris Wood
Fixtures (NZ time)
Friendlies
June 3, 12pm: v Haiti; Chase Stadium, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
June 7, 8am: v England; Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
World Cup group G
June 16, 1pm: v Iran; SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, California
June 22, 1pm: v Egypt; BC Place, Vancouver
June 27, 3pm: v Belgium, BC Place