Devastated Matt Garbett ruled out of World Cup after freak injury
Tuesday, 16 June 2026
The All Whites suffered an injury blow ahead of their opening match at the FIFA World Cup – a 2-2 draw with Iran
Midfielder Matt Garbett has been ruled out of the tournament with a hamstring injury.
He suffered the injury in the team’s penultimate training session in San Diego.
Auckland FC forward Logan Rogerson has been called up to replace Garbett in the All Whites’ 26-man squad.
As the All Whites warmed up for their match against Iran, midfielder Matt Garbett sat and watched from a chilly bin, unable to take part – his World Cup over before it began. He was absolutely devastated.
During the game, he shed a tear, wishing he was out there too. He should have been. Internally, Garbett had been named in the starting lineup after cementing his selection in the All Whites’ 1-0 warm-up defeat to England, only to suffer a cruel hamstring injury in their penultimate training session.
Due to the timing of the injury, occurring more than 24 hours before the first game, the All Whites were able to replace Garbett, Auckland FC forward Logan Rogerson cutting short his off-season holiday plans to fly to the United States and join the squad.
Garbett said it had been emotional for the past two days for him and his parents, who had travelled to the US to watch him play at the World Cup, and easily the toughest setback of his career – possibly his life.
“My parents are here and seeing them in tears … I was supposed to be starting to being ruled out of the World Cup, it’s not easy to take,” Garbett said.
“I’ve sort of gotten better over the day, but watching the game from the stands, there were some tears wishing I was out there. It’s not easy, but at the same time I want to support the boys.”
The injury happened when Garbett was dribbling with the ball during their training session at the University of San Diego on Saturday and overstretched.
As soon as he felt his hamstring, Garbett feared the worst.
“It was just a freak accident,” he said.
“I knew straight away when I did it [that my World Cup was over]. I’ve never had a muscle injury in my life. For it to be the first one and for it to be quite a bad one as well, it’s gut-wrenching. It’s been an emotional last 48 hours. A lot of tears. It’s hard to accept.”
As he watched his team-mates warm-up without him, Garbett said he sat there trying “soak it all in and enjoy the moment as much as I can.” His spirits were lifted during the game when Elijah Just, his close friend and long-time team-mate, scored twice to earn the All Whites a pulsating 2-2 draw.
“Eli and I have spent a lot of time playing PlaySation together, from the Olympics in Tokyo [until now]. We’ve spent a lot of time together in camp and to see him do what he did today, I went straight to him and said ‘goal one or goal two?’”
“I’m super happy for him. They were two unbelievable goals. I always knew he could do that. Ever since we grew up, that was kind of how he played with the dynamic movement he has. It came to fruition in today’s game.”
Coach Darren Bazeley said it was extremely tough having to officially rule Garbett out of the World Cup by calling up a replacement player.
In his absence, Callum McCowatt was named to start against Iran.
“He’s here with us today, and he’s in the changing room, which is good he gets that experience, but to take away a World Cup experience from a 24-year-old is really tough, because he's a great, great lad.”
Midfielder Ryan Thomas said all the players were feeling for their team-mate.
“It’s tough. I’ve had my fair share of injuries. He was going to start and to get that injury two days out, it’s tough on anyone, it doesn’t matter who you are,” Thomas said.
“You don’t really know what to say. He’s taken it really well to be fair but he’s got everyone supporting him, so whatever he needs, we are here for him.”