Three changes All Whites coach Darren Bazeley should consider for win-or-go-home Fifa World Cup match against Belgium

Friday, 26 June 2026

What: Fifa World Cup group G, All Whites v Belgium. Where: BC Place Stadium, Vancouver. When: 3pm Saturday (NZT), TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+ (free to air).

ANALYSIS: Knockout football has come early for the All Whites at the Fifa World Cup.

And the sense in Vancouver is that coach Darren Bazeley might make a change or two for his side’s win-or-go-home clash with Belgium on Saturday (3pm NZT).

He stuck with the same starting XI between the first-up 2-2 draw with Iran in Los Angeles and the 3-1 defeat to Egypt the team had in Vancouver.

But after the second match finished with his side conceding three goals in the final 32 minutes plus stoppage time, Bazeley will want to freshen things up for their return to BC Place, where they need to break their World Cup duck to stay alive.

The spine of captain Chris Wood, Eli Just, Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic and Finn Surman will almost certainly remain in place for what could yet be the All Whites’ last shot at getting their first World Cup win for four years.

It is also hard to see Bazeley moving away from Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace and Max Crocombe, even though there are strong alternatives in their positions – Tyler Bindon, Ben Old and Alex Paulsen.

But the time might be ripe for a change of personnel in attacking midfield and there is also the ever-present question of what to do at right back.

The wide defensive position is set to be in the spotlight, as whoever lines up there will likely be facing Belgium’s Manchester City star – and new father – Jeremy Doku.

Bazeley won’t set his side up to park the bus from the off.

The All Whites have come this far trying to play football and will have noted Egypt and Iran had plenty of good moments in their respective 1-1 and 0-0 draws with Belgium.

But he will be well aware his side are likely to spend more time without the ball defending than they did against Egypt, a match where they already spent more time out of possession than they did against Iran.

Introducing some speed so the All Whites pose a greater threat on the counter is the obvious move – and Old is the obvious player to introduce, on the left of the attacking midfield trio.

He was the first player off the bench in both matches so far, playing left back against Iran then both left winger and left back against Egypt, where a no-foul call that went against him was a source of much frustration afterwards.

Old starting in front of Cacace on the left would also help shore up a flank where the opposition moves for four of the five goals the All Whites have conceded have started from.

You could make the case for bringing in fellow speedster Jesse Randall – one of three other players to have come off the bench in both matches so far – on the other flank, to really boost the threat level on the counter, but Bazeley will likely want to keep some pace in reserve for later in the contest. Opting for Randall ahead of Old would be a surprise.

Callum McCowatt – through no fault of his own – would likely be the man to make way to get Old into the starting lineup, with Just moving to the right, but it’s also possible McCowatt could move centrally to the No 10 role Sarpreet Singh has occupied so far, if Bazeley keeps changes to a minimum.

Singh had a strong outing against Iran, where he had a key hand in both of Just’s goals, then made less of an impact against Egypt. Despite noticeably fading out of both matches, he stayed on the field until stoppage time in match one, and until the 76th minute in match two.

Ryan Thomas – who has said he is fit to start, after recovering from the hamstring injury that kept him out of both warm-up matches – appeals as a potential replacement against Belgium and an ace up Bazeley's sleeve.

He is someone who might be able to make more of an impact growing into the game from the opening whistle than he has been able to coming into a pair of fairly chaotic matches off the bench and his fresher legs will help the All Whites press Belgium early and get a foothold in the contest.