What history tells us about what the All Whites are trying to achieve at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Friday, 12 June 2026
The All Whites are the lowest-ranked team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
This year’s tournament features 16 more teams than any of the previous seven, making a direct comparison impossible.
But six of the lowest-ranked, non-host teams from the past seven 32-team tournaments never made it past the group stage, while four didn’t register a win.
That’s the history New Zealand are up against when their campaign begins on Monday against Iran in Los Angeles.
ANALYSIS: The All Whites are the lowest-ranked team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
But they have a lofty goal – getting out of the group stage and into the round of 32.
That will almost certainly require a win, something that proved beyond them in their past two World Cup appearances.
In Spain in 1982, they had three defeats, while in South Africa in 2010, they had three draws, famously finishing as the only undefeated team in the competition.
As they prepare to kick off against Iran at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday night (1pm Tuesday NZ time) it's worth looking at how their forerunners have fared.
With this World Cup featuring 48 teams, up from 32 in each of the last seven editions, and eight of the 12 third-placed teams going through to the knockout stage alongside 12 group winners and 12 runners-up – it's impossible to make a direct comparison.
But a look at how the last seven lowest-ranked teams fared and at how the lowest quartile of teams fared at the last seven tournaments tells us plenty about the scale of what the All Whites are trying to do.
There is one clear outlier. Russia were the lowest-ranked team when they hosted the World Cup in 2018 and managed two wins, over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, in the group stage, before beating Spain in a penalty shootout in the round of 16 and losing to Croatia in one in the quarterfinals.
The seven lowest-ranked teams excluding Russia in 2018 between 1998 and 2022 had a combined 4-0-17 win-draw-loss record.
Nigeria had two wins in France in 1998, over Spain and Bulgaria, and made it to the round of 16, where they lost to Denmark.
Saudi Arabia in 2018 bounced back from losing first to Russia, then to Uruguay, to beat Egypt 2-1 – in a dead rubber.
Four years later in Qatar, Ghana had a 3-2 win over South Korea in between losses to Portugal and Uruguay that meant they ultimately didn't advance.
China, in Japan and South Korea in 2002; Togo, in Germany in 2006; North Korea, in 2010; and Australia, in Brazil in 2014 all suffered three defeats.
Looking wider, 15 of a possible 56 teams that went into 32-team World Cups as one of the eight lowest-ranked made it through to the round of 16.
In addition to Russia in 2018, Japan and South Korea both did so as co-hosts in 2002.
After Nigeria in 1998, there was Senegal, ranked second-last, in 2002, who made it as far as the quarterfinals.
In 2006, Ghana, ranked third-last; Australia, ranked seventh-last; and Ecuador, ranked eighth-last all made the round of 16, while Ukraine, ranked fifth-last, made it to the quarterfinals.
In 2010, South Korea, ranked fourth-last; Japan, ranked fifth-last; and Slovakia, ranked eighth-last all made the round of 16 – Slovakia after conceding a late equaliser to All Whites centre back Winston Reid in their opener.
In 2014, Nigeria, ranked fifth-last, made it through. In 2018, Japan, ranked third-last, did, as did Australia, ranked seventh-last, in 2022.
Seven of those 12 teams began with wins, while two began with draws.
Ukraine and Ghana in 2006 and Australia in 2022 all started with losses to European heavyweights, then won their other two matches.
Six of the 12 scored five goals across their three group matches, while four scored four. Two – Nigeria in 2014 and Australia four years ago – scored just three.
The world No 85 All Whites have gone almost 400 minutes without scoring in 11 v 11 play and if they're going to achieve their goals, that's something that needs to change fast, with four points likely to be required to advance.
Their opener against world No 20 Iran shapes as their most winnable match, especially when you consider how disrupted their opponents' preparations have been as a result of the war with the United States and Israel.
If Darren Bazeley's men suffer a first-up defeat, they will be left with a mountain to climb, likely needing to get something from their third match, against world No 9 Belgium, never mind their second, against world No 29 Egypt.
This might be the most talented World Cup squad New Zealand has assembled, but success will be very hard-earned indeed.
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