The engine-room partnership the All Whites' push for FIFA World Cup history will be built on
Friday, 12 June 2026
As All Whites coach Darren Bazeley weighs up his final selection calls ahead of their FIFA World Cup opener, there is one combination he will have no doubts about.
The central midfield paring of Joe Bell and Marko Stamenić, a rock-solid engine-room partnership that their push for history – a first win and a place in the knockout stage – will be built on.
They have started together at the base of midfield 14 times under Bazeley, but only three times in the All Whites’ last 10 matches, due to injuries, and it has showed.
Those three were the hard-fought 2-1 loss to Colombia in Fort Lauderdale last November, the 4-1 win over 10-man Chile in Auckland in March and last weekend’s 1-0 loss to England in Tampa – three of the team’s stronger outings in recent months.
Stamenić is a do-it-all midfielder who has a key role to play in helping the All Whites transition from defence to attack, as was seen at times against England.
Having Bell alongside him organising things and giving the team structure enables him to play to his full potential.
Their next match together will be against Iran in Los Angeles on Monday night (kickoff 1pm Tuesday NZ time).
Speaking five days out, after an intense training in front of a few hundred locals at the University of San Diego, ahead of one final day off, Bell sang Stamenić’s praises.
“He's a fantastic midfielder. He makes my job very easy. He's very easy to play with,
“A big benefit for us has been building that relationship over time. We've obviously been through some tough games together, and also some really good ones as well.
“Marko's top. Recently he's really stepped into a leadership role within the team, and I think that's really elevated his game in a way as well. It's really fun to play midfield with him.”
Bell is three years older than Stamenić, but their All Whites journeys have taken place in parallel.
Bell made his debut against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin in November 2019, while Stamenić made his against Curaçao in Manama in October 2021, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was only one match in the intervening period.
The pair pulled on the fern together for the first time as Oly Whites at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, shortly before the All Whites returned to action, and clicked right way.
“The first time we got to play with each other, it was obvious to see the quality he had,” Stamenić said. “He doesn’t talk much, but you can see through his actions hat he shows a lot of leadership, and I think that’s similar to what I do.
“I’m trying to pick up from him. He’s a bit older than me, and he’s got a lot of qualities that I love in his game, and I think we work off each other quite well – we compliment each other’s game styles, so I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing with him.”
Communication – both on the pitch during matches and off the pitch after them – plays a big part in how Bell and Stamenić go about their work and has helped them become a more established partnership than any other Bazeley regularly puts out on the field.
Bell described it as “an ongoing conversation over the past four years on how to get better after each game and each training”.
“We often catch up afterwards and go over some smaller details – it's always learning and always growing.
“We both have a lot of respect for each other, which is obviously important, and I think that extends to the other players as well.
“It's a midfield partnership that I really enjoy being a part of.”
Stamenić said having Bell back alongside him against England gave him “extra confidence in myself”.
“We’re always communicating with one another before, during, and after the game. We love to talk tactics, we love to talk football – we share those common interests.
“We like to be honest with each other, what we could do better as individuals.
“It’s always a joy to play with Joe.”
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