Chris Wood eyes All Whites goal unlike any of the record 45 he’s scored before – one at a FIFA World Cup
Monday, 15 June 2026
Chris Wood has scored a record 45 goals in his 90 appearances for the All Whites.
But none of them stick in the memory as truly iconic.
At this year’s FIFA World Cup, the All Whites captain is looking to join the short list of New Zealanders to have scored at one.
Steve Sumner and Steve Wooddin both scored in 1982 while Winston Reid and Shane Smeltz both scored in 2010.
Chris Wood has scored a lot of goals for the All Whites.
But has he scored an iconic goal for the All Whites?
The 34-year-old English Premier League striker has scored 45 goals in 90 appearance for his national team – a record tally that will take some catching.
But he is still searching for a moment that will be the first thing people think of when they hear his name.
Rory Fallon had the header against Bahrain in 2009 that sent the All Whites to the FIFA World Cup after 28 years away.
Winston Reid had the headed equaliser against Slovakia in their opening match at that World Cup in South Africa – the one that earned New Zealand its first World Cup point.
Shane Smeltz had his toe poke early against Italy, a goal that briefly gave the All Whites the lead against the reigning world champions, in a match that ended 1-1.
Iconic goal-scoring moments are admittedly hard to come by when you play the fixtures the All Whites do.
Their competitive fixtures in Oceania aren't really that competitive, so it takes a genuine worldie to pique anyone's interest, and even then, only slightly.
Goals in the friendlies they mostly play otherwise just aren't that important.
Which might make the 2026 FIFA World Cup Wood's last best chance for such a moment, because for all that he has talked about wanting to go in four year's time, it will be a worry for the All Whites if he's still heavily involved in 2030 aged 38.
His first goal – the one against Honduras at North Harbour Stadium in October 2010 where he celebrated by pulling down his pants to reveal underwear emblazoned with WOODZEE – was the one that first came to mind when Stuff asked him which goals stand out during the All Whites' pre-World Cup camp.
Wood said he doesn't know where that pair of underwear is now, nor does he remember why he decided to celebrate in that fashion.
He also pointed to the three he has scored in two matches against Japan. Australia and Mexico – at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia – are two other notable opponents he has netted against, but in all four instances, those matches ended in defeat.
A goal that helps secure a win – or a draw that feels like a point gained – is what he's after.
Four All Whites have scored at World Cups – Reid and Smeltz in 2010 and Steve Sumner and Steve Wooddin in 1982 – and Wood would love to add his name to that list.
'I have all the belief that it will happen and I will be giving everything to do that, but also, I want to do more than that, I want to play well for this team and bring everybody else in.
'Those are all big historic goals. I like to think I've brought a longevity of goals, which is great, but I also want to have that moment in the World Cup as well.'
Wood's old team-mate Rory Fallon said a World Cup goal 'would probably be the cherry on the top' for him, especially if it came in the All Whites' first World Cup win.
''82 were the trailblazers. They got to the first World Cup. They'll always be first. We [2010] will always be the ones that got the first points. And now we'e waiting for the next team to get the first ever win. And then after the first win, it will be, can we get to the next stage?
New Zealand finished with three losses the first time they qualified 44 years ago and three draws the second time around 16 years ago, but don't expect that pattern to continue as the world's 85th-ranked team face world No 20 Iran, No 29 Egypt and No 9 Belgium in group G over the next fortnight.
Wood is set to lead his team out at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles against Iran on Monday night (kickoff 1pm Tuesday NZ time), returning to a stage he last graced at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on June 24, 2010, as the All Whites bowed out of that event with a 0-0 draw against Paraguay.
Wood recalls being eager to be more involved in 2010, where he made three appearances off the bench for a total of 66 minutes – the most playing time of anyone outside the unchanged starting XI, which featured three out-and-out strikers in Fallon, Smeltz and Chris Killen.
“I remember chatting to [coach] Ricki [Herbert], and not asking to play more, but saying 'What can I do to show you that I'm ready to do more',” Wood said.
“I wanted to get stuck into it and do well, but we had three very experienced and very senior strikers ahead of me, and I understood that they've done an extremely good job, and I was there to come off the bench, and hopefully nick something at the end to help them out.
“It was a nice moment to be a part of, but there was also more I wanted to do.”
Late on in the All Whites' second match, against Italy, with the scores tied at 1-1, he received a first-time pass from Jeremy Christie, took the ball around centre back Fabio Cannavaro with his second touch, then shot just wide to the right with his left foot with his third.
A miss that's hard to forget, but which will indeed be forgotten if he scores against Iran, Egypt or Belgium.
Almost two decades on – and 200 goals in all competitions in English football later, in addition to his 45 for his country – Wood has no bitterness about the size of his role in South Africa.
“I think my role in 2010 was probably right,' he told Stuff. ”Could I say I was ready to play as much as the other three? Probably not. They were a lot more experienced, a lot more fine-tuned to a big moment like that.
“I believe I had the ability, but I think that was the right way of doing it, and I was a bit in awe of just being there. It was a big stage. I was 18 and understood that.
“I just loved it. I was probably had that carefree way about me, but I always had the belief we'd get back there one day. It took longer than I expected, and I hoped, but it's nice to be back.”
Over the next fortnight in North America, it will likely take an injury for All Whites coach Darren Bazeley to pull Wood from the field – a scenario that doesn't bear thinking about.
The talismanic striker seems to have put his injury-wrecked club season with Nottingham Forest well behind him, with one last training to go on Sunday morning in San Diego (Monday NZ time) before he joins his coach for the pre-match press conference in Los Angeles that afternoon.
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