What All Whites coach Darren Bazeley said to referee Omar Al-Ali after their loss to Egypt at the FIFA World Cup

Wednesday, 24 June 2026

All Whites captain Chris Wood felt a foul should have gone New Zealand's way in the lead-up to Egypt's second goal.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley stopped to talk to referee Omar Al-Ali after his side’s 3-1 loss to Egypt at the World Cup.

He was frustrated with Ben Old not being awarded a foul – and with play not being stopped while he was checked out after being trod on – in the lead-up to Egyptian star Mo Salah’s go-ahead goal.

But he also felt his players needed to “deal with the moment” better.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley wasn't exactly screaming or shouting.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley speaks with the referees after his side’s loss to Egypt at the World Cup.

That's not how he operates.

But he did want to share what was on his mind.

After referee Omar Al-Ali blew his whistle to bring New Zealand's 3-1 loss to Egypt at the FIFA World Cup to an end, Bazeley walked over to shake his hand, and those of the two assistant referees.

As he did so, he stopped to have a few words about the decision not to stop play when Ben Old went down in a challenge up one end, then was left with torn and bloody shorts after being accidentally trodden on, before Egypt raced away and Mo Salah score the go-ahead goal up the other in the 67th minute.

“I understand it's a tough position,” Bazeley told Stuff the day after the match at BC Place in Vancouver where Al-Ali let a lot go. “It's tough job, refereeing. I'm pretty good with refs.

Boisterious and confident Flying Kiwis have taken over a small part of Vancouver en route to the stadium.

“I did say with that one, he'll look back and think maybe he could have done something different in that moment.”

Bazeley and his team were frustrated not only that Old didn't win a foul when he was taken out by Egyptian defender Yasser Ibrahim, but that the resulting throw-in wasn't delayed while he was checked out after taking a blow to his nether regions.

“The referee should stop the throw-in,” Bazeley said. “Whether it's a free kick or not. He should have stopped the game to check on Ben, rather than letting them play on.

“I'm not saying he got the decision right or wrong, but in the moment there's an injured player caused by an opposition player, and he should stop the game and pause.”

But while that frustration lingered throughout the All Whites' recovery and review process the day after the match on Monday local time, there was also regret they didn't play to the whistle, one of the first lessons imparted on any young sportsperson.

“We talked about it today,“ Bazeley said early on Monday evening. 'Whatever happens, we have to deal with.

“We probably didn't deal with the moment, in regards to recovering, defending, when players are thinking the game should be stopped.

“We have to deal with that moment. Egypt got on with it. They got on with the game and they just carried on, and we had maybe a moment of hesitation and got punished.”

Midfielder Joe Bell and left back Liberato Cacace had arms outstretched appealing for the free kick as Ibrahim threw the ball to Emam Ashour in front of them on Egypt's right flank, who passed infield to Mostafa Zico while not under as much pressure as he could have been.

Cacace then raced infield to try to pressure Zico, allowing Liverpool legend Salah to drift to the right and receive the ball, cut inside past Michael Boxall, play a one-two with Zico, then shoot low with his left foot past goalkeeper Max Crocombe's dive to his right.

The protests continued after the ball hit the back of the net, to no avail.

Egypt claimed their first-ever World Cup win and put one foot in the knockout stage as a result, while the All Whites were left needing to beat Belgium in their final group match, which will also be played at BC Place at 8pm on Friday (1pm Saturday NZ time).

Belgium are ranked 10th in the world by FIFA, but have started the World Cup with two draws – 1-1 against Egypt and 0-0 against Iran, in a match where they finished with 10 men.

A draw could be enough for Belgium to advance, depending on results elsewhere, but they'll be desperate for a win to take control of their own destiny.

The world No 84 All Whites have never beaten a team ranked as high as Belgium are.

They will take confidence from how competitive they were in drawing 2-2 with Iran in their opener and in the first hour against Egypt, where a Finn Surman header had them leading for 43 minutes.

Players were having a day off on Tuesday local time ahead of resuming training on Wednesday.