One week to go: The glaring failing All Whites must fix for FIFA World Cup success
Tuesday, 9 June 2026
The All Whites haven’t scored for almost 400 minutes of 11 v 11 football.
Their only goals in their last five matches came after Chile were reduced to 10 in Auckland in March.
Coach Darren Bazeley’s tenure began with the team in the middle of a goalless run that ultimately stretched to 582 minutes.
If they don’t score at the FIFA World Cup, their current run will stretched past that.
ANALYSIS: Call it dejá vu.
Darren Bazeley’s tenure as All Whites coach started with them seeking an end to a growing goal drought.
A fruitless run that started under previous coach Danny Hay stretched to 582 minutes over eight matches before China conceded an own goal after 42 minutes in Wellington in March 2023.
Matt Garbett then scored the first goal from an All White’s boot in 621 minutes as Bazeley’s second match as interim boss ended in a 2-1 win.
Three years on, the All Whites are in a similar position once again, with their FIFA World Cup opener against Iran in Los Angeles now only a week away.
Yes, they did put four past Chile at Eden Park in Auckland in March, just three matches ago.
And yes, they were looking good in that match before the 27th-minute red card to Dario Osorio changed the nature of it.
But it can’t be ignored that those goals – the only ones they have scored in their last five matches – came when it was 11 v 10.
Look purely at 11 v 11 action and it has now been 397 minutes since the All Whites last scored – a run that would be their second-longest this century.
After the China match three years ago, Bazeley said the players had been aware of their lengthy goalless run.
They are unlikely to put the Chile match to one side as easily as was just done here, but there will be growing frustration as they begin their final World Cup preparations.
Their last goal was the one from Ben Old that drew them level with Colombia with 10 minutes to play in Florida in November, on a night where they ultimately lost 2-1.
They then laid eggs against Ecuador in New Jersey that month and against Finland in Auckland in March, didn’t score prior to Osorio’s dismissal midway through the first half against Chile, and came up empty again against Haiti and England last week.
There have been some tough opponents in there – Ecuador conceded just five times in 18 matches in the gauntlet that is South American World Cup qualifying, while England didn’t concede at all in their eight matches in Europe.
But it’s undeniable that a familiar failing is coming to the fore at the worst possible time.
The All Whites had chances against Haiti – when Chris Wood went for a bicycle kick just as Jesse Randall was lining up a header from point-blank range, and when Marko Stamenić forced a save with a header at free kick – so it’s not all doom and gloom.
But Iran, Egypt and – especially – Belgium should all be more formidable in defence than the Caribbean nation.
There is no easy fix to failing at the hardest task in football.
There’s a reason players who find the back of the net on a regular basis – or who set their team-mates up to – get sold for millions upon millions of dollars.
There’s a reason All Whites captain Chris Wood’s success in England – 200 goals in all competitions and 92 in the Premier League – is so remarkable.
After a day off on Monday local time, the All Whites will get back into their work on Tuesday, having moved from the heat of Florida to the more moderate climate of San Diego.
They have six training sessions to go before facing Iran at SoFi Stadium in LA next Monday night (kickoff 1pm next Tuesday NZ time).
In losing 1-0 to England in Tampa on Saturday, they showed their defence is not as much of a concern as their 4-0 loss to Haiti – a match where wholesale changes were made throughout – might have made it look.
They now need to find something at the other end of the pitch.
Getting the right combination of players in the attacking midfield trio behind Wood will be one part of it.
Garbett’s ability to create for himself – as he showed with the team’s best chance against England – appeals.
Will Bazeley keep faith with Sarpreet Singh – quiet in both warm-up fixtures – knowing he is capable of game-changing moments when he’s on?
What about Old and Jesse Randall and the threat they offer with their pace up the left? Are they best kept in reserve for when games get stretched and opposition defenders are tired?
Questions abound as those in the current squad look to join Steve Sumner and Steve Wooddin, from 1982, and Winston Reid and Shane Smeltz, from 2010, as Kiwis on a men’s World Cup scoresheet.
If no-one finds the back of the next over the next three weeks, the All Whites won’t secure the first World Cup win that is their immediate target.
Three goalless draws would be something – potentially enough for them to advance to the round of 32 in freakish fashion, going undefeated in the group stage for the second tournament in a row.
More likely, a lack of quality in front of goal will lead to a group stage exit.
Just over three hours of playing time from now, the All Whites’ goalless run against 11 men will stretch past where it was as Bazeley’s tenure began.
A full circle moment no-one wants to happen.
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