The All Whites return to the World Cup for the first time since 2010, drawn into Group G with Belgium, Egypt and Iran. Darren Bazeley's side qualified unbeaten through Oceania, the captain is Premier League striker Chris Wood, and a country racing to get its talisman fit for the 15 June opener.
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Group G is a tough draw, but the expanded 48-team format gives the All Whites a credible third-place advancement path that wasn’t on the table at any of their previous World Cup appearances. New Zealand open against Iran at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, then move north to face Egypt at BC Place in Vancouver before closing the group against Belgium at the same Vancouver venue. Three points from anywhere across the three games would put a last-32 berth in serious play.
| Date | Match | Venue | Kick-off (UK) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun 2026 | Iran vs New Zealand | SoFi Stadium, Inglewood | 05:00 BST (16 Jun) | — |
| 21 Jun 2026 | New Zealand vs Egypt | BC Place, Vancouver | 05:00 BST (22 Jun) | — |
| 26 Jun 2026 | New Zealand vs Belgium | BC Place, Vancouver | 04:00 BST (27 Jun) | — |
Bazeley’s provisional list mixes a small core of European-league regulars (Cacace at Empoli, Stamenic at Olympiacos, Wood at Nottingham Forest) with MLS veterans like Michael Boxall and a strong A-League Australia / Auckland FC contingent. The big domestic story is Auckland FC: the 2024-25 expansion-side champions of the A-League will likely contribute six or seven squad players. The final 26-man tournament squad is due in late May.
| No. | Player | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Max Crocombe | Burton Albion | 32 |
| — | Alex Paulsen | Bournemouth (loan: Auckland FC) | 23 |
| — | Henry Gray | Wellington Phoenix | 26 |
| No. | Player | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Liberato Cacace | Empoli | 25 |
| — | Michael Boxall | Minnesota United | 37 |
| — | Tyler Bindon | Reading | 21 |
| — | Tim Payne | Auckland FC | 31 |
| — | Nando Pijnaker | Sligo Rovers | 26 |
| — | Finn Surman | Portland Timbers | 22 |
| — | Francis de Vries | Auckland FC | 33 |
| No. | Player | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Marko Stamenic | Olympiacos | 23 |
| — | Joe Bell | Viking | 27 |
| — | Matt Garbett | Como | 23 |
| — | Cameron Howieson | Auckland FC | 30 |
| — | Sarpreet Singh | Hansa Rostock | 27 |
| — | Clayton Lewis | Auckland FC | 28 |
| No. | Player | Club | Age |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Chris Wood (c) | Nottingham Forest | 34 |
| — | Kosta Barbarouses | Auckland FC | 35 |
| — | Elijah Just | Hibernian | 26 |
| — | Ben Old | St-Étienne | 23 |
| — | Ben Waine | Plymouth Argyle | 24 |
Bazeley has settled on a 4-3-3 with Joe Bell as the deep playmaker, Stamenic and Garbett shuttling box-to-box, and a front three that puts Just and Barbarouses either side of Wood. In matches the All Whites expect to spend long periods without the ball — which is most of them at this level — the wingers tuck back into a 4-5-1 mid-block and the side counters down Cacace’s overlap.
The strength is Wood. The Nottingham Forest captain scored nine of New Zealand’s 24 qualifying goals himself, and his ability to win first contact and bring runners into play is the hinge of every set-piece routine. Behind him, Stamenic’s tournament breakout in the Champions League with Olympiacos has lifted New Zealand’s midfield ceiling: he carried the ball further per 90 than any midfielder at this Oceania campaign.
The vulnerability is everywhere else under sustained pressure. Belgium’s possession game and Iran’s set-piece focus could expose a defence whose best centre-back (Boxall) turns 38 during the tournament. The 4-1 Chile win in March 2026 was a marker; the 0-2 Finland defeat at the same Eden Park three nights earlier was a more honest gauge of the level required.
Predicted starting XI — 4-3-3. Captain: Chris Wood.
Bazeley took the All Whites job permanently in 2024 after holding it on an interim basis from March 2023. The English former defender played 500-plus professional games for Watford, Wolves and Walsall, and has been on the New Zealand Football coaching staff since 2009 in U-17, U-20 and assistant senior roles. World Cup 2026 will make him the first person ever to have coached at the FIFA U-17 World Cup, U-20 World Cup, Olympic Football Tournament and senior Men’s World Cup.
Wood is New Zealand’s all-time leading scorer, most-capped outfield player and the first All White to genuinely cross over into Premier League starting-XI status. The Nottingham Forest centre-forward scored nine of his country’s qualifying goals (more than double any other Oceania player) but suffered a left-knee injury in October 2025 that required December surgery. He returned in April 2026, started a Europa League quarter-final against Porto, and remains the country’s biggest selection question heading into June.
The talisman. All-time leading scorer, Premier League pedigree, 9 qualifying goals, set-piece focal point. Topped the qualifying scoring chart with 9 goals and would be the obvious New Zealand pick in the Golden Boot market at three-figure prices, fitness permitting.
The breakthrough Champions League midfielder of this New Zealand cycle. Box-to-box engine for Olympiacos at 23 and the player Bazeley pivots tactical decisions around. Carries the ball through the lines better than anyone else on the squad.
Serie A regular and the squad’s most-improved overlapping defender. Will be tested heavily by Belgium’s right-side directness in the group finale, but New Zealand’s best chance of generating wide chance creation runs through his overlaps.
Multi-time MLS Defender of the Year contender and the veteran leader at the back. Scored the opener in the qualifying final against New Caledonia at Eden Park, the goal that effectively sent the All Whites to the World Cup.
The Scottish Premiership directness will be New Zealand’s best transitional weapon. Scored the third in the qualifying final and has finally locked down the right-wing slot after a 2024-25 Hibernian breakout.
The All Whites went unbeaten through OFC’s 48-team-format qualifying path: seven wins from seven in the second-round group, a 7-0 aggregate playoff semi-final win over Fiji, and a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in the final at Eden Park (Boxall, Barbarouses and Just the scorers) to claim Oceania’s first ever automatic World Cup berth. It was their first World Cup qualification in 16 years.
The standout was that final in Auckland on 24 March 2025: 22,000 fans, a 0-0 stalemate broken open by Boxall’s 62nd-minute header two minutes after Wood was forced off injured, and a tournament hosted by Eden Park rather than the typical heartbreak setting of an inter-confederation playoff. Wood himself topped Oceania’s qualifying scorer chart with nine goals.
| Played | 7 |
|---|---|
| Won | 7 |
| Drawn | 0 |
| Lost | 0 |
| Goals for | 24 |
| Goals against | 1 |
| Top scorer (qualifying) | Chris Wood (9 goals) |
Three appearances, two of them defining moments for the country’s footballing identity. 1982 in Spain saw the All Whites become the first Oceania nation to qualify for a World Cup, with 30,000 New Zealanders at the Skoda Stadium for the famous 4-0 group-stage defeat to Brazil’s defending champions. South Africa 2010 produced an even more remarkable story: the only undefeated team at the entire tournament, somehow still group-stage eliminated — three draws including a 1-1 against reigning world champions Italy.
Two moments still in heaviest rotation: Winston Reid’s stoppage-time header against Slovakia in 2010 (the All Whites’ first ever World Cup goal earning a 1-1 draw), and Rory Fallon’s 84th-minute header in front of 35,000 at Westpac Stadium that beat Bahrain 1-0 in November 2009 and triggered New Zealand’s first World Cup qualification in 28 years. Both moments are referenced in essentially every All Whites pre-tournament story.
| Year | Host | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Spain | Group stage |
| 2010 | South Africa | Group stage (undefeated) |
Last five senior internationals (most recent first):
Mixed: a marquee 4-1 win over Chile at Eden Park in March 2026 was the standout, but defeats to Finland (home), Ecuador and Colombia confirm the gap to top-tier opposition Bazeley still needs to bridge in June.
New Zealand are 1500/1 with Bet365 to win the tournament outright, the longest price of any of the 48 sides in the World Cup winner odds market. Group G prices say everything: 20/1 to top the group, 9/2 to escape the first round under the 48-team format. The qualify-from-group market is the only one carrying any value, and the Iran opener is the priced fixture that swings the entire campaign.
| Market | Best price | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| To win World Cup 2026 | 1500/1 | Bet365 |
| To win Group G | 20/1 | Bet365 |
| To reach the last 16 | 9/2 | Paddy Power |
| To reach the quarter-final | 33/1 | Bet365 |
| To reach the semi-final | 150/1 | Bet365 |
| To reach the Final | 300/1 | Bet365 |
Odds correct as of 1 May 2026 and subject to change. For the full World Cup 2026 outright market, group winners and golden-boot specials, see our World Cup 2026 betting hub.
Just one previous senior meeting — a 3-0 friendly defeat in Tehran in March 2017, with Sardar Azmoun and Karim Ansarifard among the goalscorers. The 15 June 2026 opener at SoFi Stadium will be the first competitive fixture between the two countries.
Two previous meetings, both at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. The All Whites drew the first 0-0, then lost a wild rematch 4-3 in Rustenburg with Shane Smeltz scoring twice in the latter. The two nations have not met since.
The two nations have never previously met at senior level. The 26 June 2026 group-stage finale at BC Place in Vancouver will be the first competitive fixture in the All Whites-Red Devils series — and Belgium are roughly a 1/12 favourite in the match-result market.
Odds in this article are correct at the time of writing and are subject to change. Always check the latest prices on the bookmaker’s site before placing a bet.
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Nottingham Forest centre-forward Chris Wood captains New Zealand at World Cup 2026. He is the All Whites’ all-time leading scorer and most-capped outfield player.
English coach Darren Bazeley has managed the All Whites permanently since 2024 (interim from March 2023) and led the side unbeaten through Oceania qualifying for World Cup 2026.
New Zealand are in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and Iran.
New Zealand open against Iran on 15 June 2026 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The match kicks off at 05:00 BST on 16 June.
New Zealand are 1500/1 with Bet365 to win the World Cup outright as of 1 May 2026 — the longest price of any qualified nation.
No. The All Whites’ best World Cup finish is the group stage, but they remain the only team in history to leave a World Cup without losing — three draws at South Africa 2010, including a 1-1 against reigning champions Italy.
New Zealand last appeared at the World Cup at South Africa 2010. The 2026 tournament is the country’s first World Cup appearance in 16 years and only their third in history.
