All Whites take 'big step forward' against England as focus turns to World Cup opener against Iran
Monday, 8 June 2026
The All Whites drew a line under their time in Florida quickly after losing 1-0 to England in their second FIFA World Cup warm-up match on Saturday afternoon in Tampa.
They flew to San Diego that night and will be based in southern California for the best part of the next two weeks.
Their World Cup opener against Iran in Los Angeles is now nine days away.
Players felt they responded well against England after a disappointing showing in losing 4-0 to Haiti in their first warm-up match last Tuesday.
Two hours in the heat against England in Tampa – then five hours on a plane.
The All Whites drew a line under the first phase of their FIFA World Cup preparations quickly on Saturday local time.
After losing 4-0 to Haiti in Fort Lauderdale last Tuesday, Darren Bazeley’s men were a lot better defensively in only losing 1-0 to England in Tampa on a hot afternoon where temperatures hovered around 33C.
But within a few hours of the final whistle, they were putting Florida and its heat and humidity behind them, heading for a 13-day stretch in southern California – training in San Diego and playing Iran in Los Angeles on June 15 (kickoff 1pm June 16 NZ time).
The high on Sunday in San Diego was set to be 22C and that should come as sweet relief to the All Whites.
After recovering from their exertions against world No 4 England, they are set to have a day off from training on Monday, before turning their focus squarely towards Iran and the country’s first men’s World Cup fixture in 16 years.
Captain Chris Wood is one of two survivors in the All Whites’ squad from that campaign in South Africa in 2010 and was pleased with the way his team responded in their second and final warm-up match.
“It was a good performance,” he said in an interview conducted by NZ Football upon arrival in San Diego. It was a step up from what we did against Haiti. We needed a reaction, and we definitely got that.
“I think we showed some good elements in the game, nullified them in a lot of areas, and then tried to break them down on the break. It was positive in a way, but there’s still a way to go.”
Centre back Finn Surman had a night to forget against Haiti, but bounced back impressively against England, nailing down a starting role against Iran.
“I think it was a big step forward, especially after our last result,” he said out the back of Raymond James Stadium, where 25,899 fans – most of them supporting England – left the venue more than half empty, but still created a decent atmosphere.
“That game [against Haiti] got away from us, and we were really disappointed. Although we maybe [went] down 1-0 with a goal we shouldn't really concede, we let the game get away from us by chasing it too much.
“I think in this one, it was much better. We kept it close, and whenever you keep it close, you give yourself a chance, and those that's going to be important for us going forward. There's a lot of positives to take and we can look positively forward.”
Bazeley made four changes to his starting XI from the Haiti match to the England one, bringing in Max Crocombe for Alex Paulsen in goal, Michael Boxall for Tyler Bindon in central defence, Joe Bell for Alex Rufer at the base of midfield and Matt Garbett for Jesse Randall on the left wing.
Wood, Surman, Tim Payne, Liberato Cacace, Marko Stamenić, Eli Just and Sarpreet Singh all started both fixtures.
Bazeley ultimately used 22 players for the second match in a row. Michael Woud, Tommy Smith and Ben Waine didn’t play, while Ryan Thomas is still recovering from a hamstring injury but should be fit to face Iran, albeit likely not from the start.
His initial choices felt like an indication of his selection thinking, nine days out from the biggest match of his tenure.
Attacking midfield is likely to be the area where there is the hottest debate – especially after a second quiet outing in a row from Singh, who has to be least nailed-on of the seven back-to-back starters.
Garbett did his chances of being on the field at kick-off in the World Cup opener plenty of good.
He had the All Whites’ best chance, forcing England’s first-half goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to get down to his left to palm a curled shot from the top of the box away, after it bounced dangerously just in front of him.
Asked if he had done enough to earn a start, Garbett said: “Obviously it will be up to Baze, but I’m confident in my abilities. I think I should start … I’m ambitious. I want to start in the best games, in the World Cup.
“Ultimately, it comes down to the decision of the coach, but I thought I showed tonight that I should be on that pitch.”
Bazeley said after the match that he did not yet know his starting XI to face Iran. He likely won’t settle on it until two or three days out from that match, making the first few days of training in San Diego a last chance for players to put their hands up.
“We have to continue the progress that we've been doing,” Wood said. “[There’s a] lot of work still to do on the training pitch.
“We've got a big [six] days of training ready to go, so we're ready for that first game, but we're slowly ticking in the right direction of where we want to be.”
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
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