Finn Surman, All Whites’ centre backs in ‘weird situation’ as FIFA World Cup selection call looms
Friday, 5 June 2026
Finn Surman has been the All Whites’ leading centre back since they qualified for the FIFA World Cup last March.
He has started in 10 of their last 11 matches, but had a poor performance in their 4-0 loss to Haiti on Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.
Tyler Bindon and Michael Boxall are also vying to start in the position come the World Cup.
Surman described having such competition so close to the tournament as a “weird situation” – “some ways it’s good, some ways it’s bad”.
Most of the All Whites set to feature at the FIFA World Cup were already in place before Darren Bazeley took charge of the team in 2023.
But there are a few that could be considered his men – chief amongst them, centre back Finn Surman.
Bazeley first worked with the defender as national U-20 coach, where he had a big role to play in picking him up in the middle of 2023, after he found himself on the outer at the Wellington Phoenix.
After making him captain for the FIFA U-20 World Cup that May and June, he called him up to the All Whites for the first time, while still only the interim coach – backing Surman was grateful for in a period he said “shaped me as a person and a player”.
Once Bazeley was appointed on a full-time basis, he then made Surman the captain of the national U-23 team for the Oceania Olympic qualifiers that September, before handing him his senior debut against Greece that November.
After Surman moved from the Phoenix to Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer midway through 2024, Bazeley gave him space to establish himself at his new club, even though that meant he missed the Oceania World Cup qualifying finals last March.
The 22-year-old has excelled for the Timbers, where there is a sense it won’t be long before a bigger club comes looking to acquire his services.
And he has been one of the two starting centre backs in 10 of the All Whites’ last 11 matches, alongside 21-year-old Tyler Bindon six times and 37-year-old Michael Boxall four times.
On Tuesday night in Fort Lauderdale as they lost 4-0 to Haiti in their first World Cup warm-up match, Surman had the worst of his 18 All Whites appearances to date, getting beaten too easily for the first goal they conceded, then losing his man on a cross for the third.
Centre back is one of three positions where Bazeley went into camp with decisions to make (goalkeeper and attacking midfield are the others). It felt as though it was a case of settling on whether Boxall or Bindon would partner Surman. One bad performance won’t necessarily have changed that, but it has created fresh uncertainty.
“For me personally, [there was] a bit of frustration because I didn't play good, and so I'm disappointed with that,” Surman said on Thursday afternoon local time (Friday NZ time) in Tampa.
“There's moments where I know that I can do a lot better and I should do a lot better. On a personal note, it's very disappointing. Then as a team and as a unit, we looked at the different areas that we need to be better, and we’ve identified them, and so we're going to continue to work on them on the training ground.”
There are now just 90 minutes of game time before Bazeley has to decide which two centre backs will face Iran in Los Angeles on June 15 (June 16 NZ time) and all eyes will be on who starts against England.
Surman and Bindon again; Surman and Boxall, who looked to be the first-choice pairing at the end of 2025, before an injury ruled Boxall out of the March friendlies at home; or Boxall and Bindon, a pairing that was front and centre during Oceania World Cup qualifying, but which Bazeley has only used once since the All Whites booked their spot.
Surman said it was a “weird situation” having four centre backs playing well at club level – Nando Pijnaker is the other – but competing for just two starting spots, with the final decision still to be made and the World Cup drawing ever closer.
“That’s some ways it’s good, some ways it’s bad. It’s a challenge for all of us, to put our best foot forward to be the ones that play, then also to push the ones that are playing, if we’re not selected.
“It is difficult. It takes time to build up partnerships and I feel like centre back is one of the key partnerships that does take time and needs attention, but it’s one of those things where we need to continue to work as a unit to try to be ready for when the two do get picked.”
The All Whites will train for the second and final time in Tampa – and the sixth and final time in Florida – on Friday local time (Saturday NZ time) before facing world No 4 England in their second and final World Cup warm-up friendly on Saturday afternoon (kickoff 8am Sunday NZ time).
While England have two of the best players in the world in their ranks in the form of Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, their captain, and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham, Surman is unlikely to be fazed facing them, as he recently went toe to toe with Argentine World Cup winner Leo Messi as the Timbers played Inter Miami in MLS.
While Messi scored as his side won 2-0 three weeks ago, Surman had a highlight reel play in the second half when he recovered well to block one of the global superstar’s shots.
He was typically modest immediately afterwards – “it’s always nice to block a shot” – but said it had been a chance to reflect on how far he had already come from his days as a promising youngster at Canterbury club Selwyn United
“You take a step back for a minute and think about where you are. Not that it's a big occasion, but it's a pretty cool moment in a career, and after that you just get stuck into the game.
“I tried my best to nullify him and stop him. Especially in the second half, I came up against him a little bit and just tried to focus on slowing him down to give our team the best chance to win.”
Surman has blocked 13 more shots than any other player in MLS this season and said it was “a really important part of defending”.
Every time myself or one of my team-mates can block a shot, it's one less shot that our keeper has to face, and one less chance that the ball is going to go in the back of the net.
“It comes down to a mix of anticipation and reading the game, and then also having the right timing and being willing to step in front of [the shot]. I think it is one of my strengths – getting in the way the ball and stopping goal opportunities.”
A strength that means he has plenty of credit in the bank as Bazeley prepares to make a potentially decisive call.
All Whites – 2026 FIFA World Cup
Squad
GK: Max Crocombe, Alex Paulsen, Michael Woud; DF: Callan Elliot, Tim Payne; Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Nando Pijnaker, Tommy Smith, Finn Surman; Liberato Cacace, Francis de Vries; MF: Lachlan Bayliss, Joe Bell, Matt Garbett, Eli Just, Ben Old, Alex Rufer, Sarpreet Singh, Marko Stamenić, Ryan Thomas; FW: Kosta Barbarouses, Callum McCowatt, Jesse Randall, Ben Waine, Chris Wood
Fixtures/results (NZ time)
Friendlies
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