Fifa World Cup: All Whites must fix porous defence to be better in 2030 after 5-1 drubbing from Belgium
Saturday, 27 June 2026
At BC Place Stadium, Vancouver (Group G): Belgium 5 (Leandro Trossard 28’ 50’, Kevin De Bruyne 66, Romelu Lukakau 86, Alexis Saelemaekers 90+4) All Whites 1 (Elijah Just 84’). HT: 1-0.
ANALYSIS: The All Whites must find a way of fixing their defensive clangers to be competitive at the next World Cup after their 2026 dream ended with a whimper not a bang against brilliant Belgium.
Elijah Just - yet again New Zealand’s best player - earned a late consolation with his third goal of the tournament but the All Whites were embarrased by their 5-1 drubbing from the Belgians in Vancouver on Saturday.
Belgium’s big names - Leandro Trossard (2), Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku featured on the scoresheet as the All Whites crashed to their biggest World Cup losing margin in 44 years since a 4-0 loss to Brazil in 1982.
As good as the Belgian scorers were, and the fleet-footed Jeremy Doku too, most goals were gimmes from a poor All Whites defence which conceded 10 goals across three Group G games.
Contrast that with the unbeaten 2010 All Whites who conceded just twice.
TV analyst and former All Whites goalkeeper Oli Sail summed up the first goal by saying it was “unforgiveable” for the tall Kiwi defence to concede the first goal to Trossard from a set piece.
Coach Darren Bazeley also conceded it was “a killer”.
Centreback Finn Surman failed to attack the ball. It’s a cardinal sin for a keeper to let a ball bounce in the six-yard area, yet Max Crocombe remained rooted and the two most experienced All Whites, Tim Payne and Chris Wood, conspired to get in each other’s way, giving Trossard a freebie strike.
The All Whites rearguard were again too slow to react for Trossard’s second in the 50th minute and they didn’t clear their lines before De Bruyne clipped in the third at 66 minutes.
Just gave a glimmer of hope when he crashed home a left-footed shot in the 84th minute in a moment that deserves celebrating. It may be a long time before another New Zealander scores three World Cup goals.
But there was no first goal on the big stage for Wood, who was double-teamed by the Belgian centrebacks and scarcely had a sniff.
Late goals from Lukaku with his first touch 56 seconds after taking the pitch and Alexis Saelemaekers made it a bitter pill to swallow.
The reality was it could have been a lot more but for some good saves from Crocombe.
Put simply, the All Whites were outclassed. The gap between Belgium - 10th in the world - and the 85th-ranked New Zealanders proved a yawning chasm.
The Belgians, with Doku leading the way, played intricate triangle passes to open up the All Whites, while Bazeley’s team, dominated in midfield, struggled to get the ball and keep it when they did get a sniff.
Everyone thought scoring would be the All Whites' greatest challenge in 2026, but they got four goals - more than any previous World Cup. Defence was always going to the Achilles heel.
This squad did not have centrebacks of Ryan Nelsen and Winston Reid’s calibre in 2010.
But on the plus side, Finn Surman and Tyler Bindon are 22 and 21 and will be better and more hardened when the next World Cup rolls around in 2030.
Fullback Liberato Cacace, 25, and midfielder Marko Stamenic, 24, will also be more seasoned and will learn from this experience.
Four more years of international football, with more games against quality teams, should put an end to any defensive naivety.
The Belgium shellacking was doubly dispiriting because the All Whites had started the tournament so promisingly with a 2-2 draw with Iran.
They also played well in the first half against Egypt to lead 1-0 at halftime before defensively imploding in the second spell in much the same fashion they did against Belgium.
That’s why it hurts to see New Zealand at the bottom of the group for a second time in three attempts and to head home without an elusive first World Cup win. They now share with Honduras the dubious record of nine World Cup games without victory.
Just was again their best, not just for his goal, but his change of pace, swerve and ability to play Belgium at their own game.
He must be destined for a move from Scotland’s Motherwell to a club in a bigger league.
Once the All Whites went down 2-0, Bazeley began to roll the dice, throwing on the pacy Jesse Randall and Ben Old.
It was still somewhat strange later, however to introduce defenders Michael Boxall and Francis de Vries, instead of forwards Ben Waine or Kosta Barbarouses.
But in the final analysis it wouldn’t have mattered. Belgium were on a different planet.