New Zealand are back at the World Cup for the third time in their history and the first time since 2010.
The All Whites have never won a game at the World Cup finals — a record they are desperately eager to change in North America.
They qualified as the sole automatic qualifier from Oceania, beating New Caledonia 3-0 at Eden Park in Auckland on March 24, 2025, with a qualifying campaign that produced 29 goals and just one conceded across five matches including dominant wins of 8-1 over Vanuatu, 8-0 over Samoa, and 7-0 over Fiji.
Under English coach Darren Bazeley, New Zealand prefer a possession-based, high-pressing system with two holding midfielders anchoring the middle and Chris Wood as the focal point up front.
They are drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt, and Iran, opening against Iran in Los Angeles on June 16.
Finishing bottom of their group would surprise nobody, but New Zealand have a captain capable of scoring against anyone and a squad that punches above its weight whenever it assembles together.
Here are the 10 best soccer players in New Zealand at the 2026 World Cup.
1. Chris Wood — Forward (Captain)
Age: 34 | Club: Nottingham Forest (England)
New Zealand’s greatest ever footballer and the sole reason this nation is taken seriously at any major tournament.
Wood is the All Whites’ all-time leading scorer with 45 international goals from 90 caps — more than four times the next-best scorer in the entire squad.
In the 2024/25 Premier League season he scored 20 goals for Nottingham Forest, a tally bettered only by Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, and Alexander Isak.
In Oceania qualifying he finished as the top scorer with 9 goals in 11 appearances, including a header hat-trick against Fiji.
He is 6ft 3in, an elite aerial threat, and according to Hooligan Soccer, he has netted nearly 100 Premier League goals across his career.
Bazeley’s entire tactical system is built around maximising his physical presence and clinical finishing.
At 34, this is almost certainly his final World Cup.
2. Elijah Just — Midfielder
Age: 26 | Club: Motherwell (Scotland)
New Zealand’s second most productive international scorer in the squad and one of the most important players in the team beyond Wood.
Just has 44 caps and 9 international goals from a wide attacking position and scored the third goal in the qualification-clinching 3-0 win over New Caledonia.
He had a standout season in the Scottish Premiership with Motherwell in 2025/26, which has given him the form and confidence to take into this World Cup.
He gives New Zealand a direct, energetic wide threat that complements Wood’s presence in the box.
3. Marko Stamenić — Midfielder
Age: 24 | Club: Swansea City (Wales)
One of the two first-choice holding midfielders in Bazeley’s system and one of the most important structural players in this New Zealand squad.
Stamenić has 39 caps and 3 international goals and anchors the midfield alongside Joe Bell, providing the discipline and organisation that allows New Zealand to remain compact and competitive against higher-ranked opposition.
He is tactically astute, composed under pressure, and plays his club football in the Championship with Swansea City.
4. Tyler Bindon — Defender
Age: 21 | Club: Sheffield United (England, on loan from Nottingham Forest)
The youngest player in the New Zealand squad and the most exciting defensive talent the country has produced in a generation.
Bindon spent 2025/26 on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship from Nottingham Forest and has 25 caps at just 21 — a remarkable number that reflects how quickly he has established himself as a first-choice starter.
He is tipped to lead the All Whites’ defensive line in North America and is one of the most watched young players at the entire 2026 World Cup.
5. Michael Boxall — Defender
Age: 37 | Club: Minnesota United FC (USA)
The oldest outfield player in the New Zealand squad and one of the team’s most experienced and dependable leaders at the back.
Boxall has 63 caps and scored the opening goal in the 3-0 qualification win over New Caledonia — his first international goal in 55 appearances — which showed exactly the kind of delivery he brings on the biggest occasions.
He plays in MLS with Minnesota United and brings the kind of experience and aerial authority in defence that New Zealand need when the group stage pressure rises.
6. Liberato Cacace — Defender
Age: 25 | Club: Wrexham (Wales)
New Zealand’s most attack-minded defender and one of the most technically accomplished full-backs in the squad.
Cacace plays at Wrexham in the Championship and has 37 caps, bringing pace, composure, and the ability to contribute in attack from the left flank.
He is one of the younger, European-based defenders who give New Zealand’s backline a more modern and dynamic profile than the squad’s domestic-heavy reputation might suggest.
7. Joe Bell — Midfielder
Age: 27 | Club: Viking (Norway)
The second pillar of Bazeley’s double-pivot in midfield and the partner Stamenić relies on to maintain the team’s defensive shape.
Bell has 32 caps and plays in the Norwegian Eliteserien with Viking, bringing disciplined positional play, a high work rate, and intelligent ball retention.
He is not a player who makes headlines but is absolutely central to how New Zealand function when they do not have the ball.
8. Matthew Garbett — Midfielder
Age: 24 | Club: Peterborough United (England)
One of New Zealand’s most productive midfielders with 37 caps and 5 international goals from a central position.
Garbett brings energy, technical quality, and a genuine threat of scoring from deep positions that gives New Zealand a different dimension beyond Wood’s centre-forward play.
He is developing steadily in League One with Peterborough United and is one of the most promising young midfielders the country has produced.
9. Kosta Barbarouses — Forward
Age: 36 | Club: Western Sydney Wanderers (Australia)
New Zealand’s most experienced forward alongside Wood and the second most capped player in the squad.
Barbarouses has 76 caps and 10 international goals and scored the second goal in the World Cup-qualifying victory over New Caledonia.
At 36, he brings tournament experience, a professional mentality, and a tireless work rate that supports Wood effectively in the attack.
10. Sarpreet Singh — Midfielder
Age: 27 | Club: Wellington Phoenix (New Zealand)
One of the most technically gifted players in the New Zealand squad and a midfielder who spent time in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich’s reserve team before returning home.
Singh has 28 caps and 3 international goals and brings a creative, technical quality from midfield that is different from the functional, system-first players around him.
He is one of the most naturally talented footballers New Zealand has produced and gives Bazeley a spark of unpredictability when the team needs to break down a low defensive block.
New Zealand’s Shot at History
New Zealand have never won a World Cup game. Three appearances, no wins, no draws, no points.
This squad has the experience of Wood, the young talent of Bindon, the organisation of Stamenić and Bell, and a coach in Bazeley who has quietly built one of the best-drilled teams in Oceania history.
They are underdogs in Group G and they know it.
But if Wood fires and the system holds, an upset is not out of the question.
Check out more on every country that has won the World Cup, the best strikers in world football, and the longest unbeaten runs in international football.
According to World Cup Wiki, Wood’s 45 goals are more than four times the next-best scorer in the All Whites squad — which tells you everything about how much this team depends on its captain.
Who do you think will be New Zealand’s best player at the 2026 World Cup? Let us know in the comments!
