New Zealand head coach Darren Bazeley has named his 26-man squad for FIFA World Cup 2026™ at Eden Park in Auckland this morning.
Qualifying as OFC’s sole representative, and the region’s first representative at a FIFA World Cup™ since 2010, the All Whites will be captained by their nation’s all-time top goalscorer and joint record appearance-holder, Chris Wood.
Wood follows in the footsteps of Steve Sumner and Ryan Nelson, who previously captained New Zealand at their only two previous World Cup appearances in 1982 and 2010. Having featured as a teenager in South Africa, Wood is one of two players named in the squad alongside defender Tommy Smith, who featured at the All Whites most recent World Cup campaign 16 years ago.
The remainder of the squad is also largely settled, and includes all 11 starters who helped book New Zealand’s ticket to FIFA World Cup 2026™ with a 3-0 win over New Caledonia at Eden Park last March. Among those include defender Michael Boxall, and forwards Kosta Barbarouses and Elijah Just – who all scored for the All Whites in that decisive victory.
15 of the 26-man squad ply their trade outside of New Zealand and the A-League, in comparison to the nine who were named in the 2010 squad – a testament to the growing development and impact of New Zealand players overseas.
New Zealand have been drawn into Group G at FIFA World Cup 2026™ and will begin their campaign against Iran on Tuesday June 16 (NZT), before facing Egypt on Monday June 22 (NZT), and finally Belgium on Saturday June 27 (NZT).
They will be based in San Diego in Southern California throughout their campaign, and will also face Haiti and England in a pair of international friendlies in the state of Florida prior to the tournament.
New Zealand’s squad for FIFA World Cup 2026:
Goalkeepers:
Max Crocombe – Milwall FC (England)
Alex Paulsen – Lechia Gdańsk (Poland)
Michael Woud – Auckland FC (New Zealand)
Defenders:
Tyler Bindon – Nottingham Forest (New Zealand)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United (USA)
Liberato Cacace – Wrexham AFC (Wales)
Francis De Vries – Auckland FC (New Zealand)
Callan Elliot – Auckland FC (New Zealand)
Tim Payne – Wellington Phoenix (New Zealand)
Nando Pijanker – Auckland FC (New Zealand)
Tommy Smith – Braintree Town (England)
Finn Surman – Portland Timbers (USA)
Midfielders
Lachlan Bayliss – Newcastle Jets (Australia)
Joe Bell – Viking FK (Norway)
Alex Rufer – Wellington Phoenix (New Zealand)
Marko Stamenic – Swansea City (Wales)
Ryan Thomas – PEC Zwolle (Netherlands)
Forwards
Kosta Barbarouses – Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia)
Matt Garbett – Peterborough United (England)
Eli Just – Motherwell (Scotland)
Callum McCowatt – Silkeborg (Denmark)
Ben Old – Saint-Etienne (France)
Jesse Randall – Auckland FC (New Zealand)
Sapreet Singh – Wellington Phoenix (New Zealand)
Ben Waine – Port Vale (England)
Chris Wood – Nottingham Forest (England) (C)
New Zealand’s FIFA World Cup 2026™ match schedule:
Iran vs New Zealand | Los Angeles Stadium | June 15 6PM local time (June 16, 1PM NZT)
New Zealand vs Egypt | BC Place Vancouver |June 21 6PM (June 22, 1PM NZT)
New Zealand vs Belgium | BC Place Vancouver | June 26 8PM (June 27, 3PM NZ time):