All Whites vs Tahiti & Malaysia: Squad Yarns & Preview
What do we want to see out of the All Whites in a pair of October matches against Tahiti (in Vanuatu) and Malaysia (in Auckland)? That’s simple: Wins. Goals would be nice. Clean sheets would be nice. Beautiful flowing football, especially in the home game, would be nice. But ultimately these are low-key fixtures within the team’s greater journey and the most important thing is just to see Bazeley’s Boys turn up with a level of proficiency and professionalism that leaves the result in no doubt, whether they score one goal or six (though six would be the preferred option of the two).
The Tahiti game is the first of their three within the group stage of World Cup qualifying, with the other two to be played in the November window against Vanuatu (in Hamilton) and Samoa (in Auckland). Obviously these are important matches with Oceania now having one automatic entry into the World Cup... but the All Whites haven’t lost a game against an OFC opponent since the so-called Horror in Honiara – the 2-0 defeat against Vanuatu in 2012. It’s now a 25-game unbeaten streak since then with the only two draws being:
The final of the 2016 Nations Cup against Papua New Guinea, which NZ won on penalties (an Anthony Hudson masterclass, of course)
A WCQ second-leg 0-0 away against New Caledonia in 2017 immediately after they’d already won the home leg 2-0
And another WCQ second-leg a few months later against the Solomon Islands where they drew 2-2 after thrashing them 6-1 at home days earlier courtesy of a Chris Wood hat-trick
Under Darren Bazeley, the All Whites won all four Nations Cup games earlier this year scoring 15 goals and conceding zero. The biggest win amongst them was a 5-0 drubbing of... Tahiti, with Ben Waine and Kosta Barbarouses each scoring twice and Finn Surman also getting his first international goal. Bazeley was Danny Hay’s assistant at the 2022 WCQ tournament where the All Whites won all five games scoring 18 goals and conceding one, although they only beat Tahiti 1-0 there with Libby Cacace getting the decisive goal.
It doesn’t seem like it’s in Bazeley’s bag to get complacent about these things so he’s picked a very strong squad for this window, about as strong as he could muster considering the injuries – with only Finn Surman and Joe Bell missing for non-injury reasons amongst his regulars. That’ll be because their club seasons are nearing their end. Surman trying to stay in focus for a debut and Bell’s trying to haul his team into European qualification. We’ll get to the individual cases later but suffice to say that a whole bunch of others who could reasonably have skipped this tour for their own good reasons – Chris Wood, Marko Stamenic, Liberato Cacace, Ben Old, Elijah Just, Ben Waine, Max Crocombe, Tyler Bindon, Michael Boxall, Matt Garbett – are all here. Heck, ol’ Baze has even managed to coax Storm Roux back out of the international wilderness just as it had seemed like the two-time reigning A-League champion was done with all that.
The Malaysia game is the funkier one. They’re an unfamiliar opponent having last played against New Zealand in a pair of matches at an exhibition tournament they hosted in Kuala Lumpur way back in 2000. It was a 0-0 draw in the first meeting before the All Whites beat them 2-0 in the final thanks to goals from Ryan Nelsen and Paul Urlovic. Of more relevance is that Malaysia failed to progress to the next round of AFC World Cup qualification after finishing third in a group with Kyrgyzstan, Oman, and Chinese Taipei. They did have a 3-3 draw with South Korea earlier in the year in which Romel Morales scored a 90+15’ equaliser (after Son Heung-min had given Korea the lead from the penalty spot ten mins earlier). That was in the Asian Cup group stage but alas they’d already lost 4-0 to Jordan and 1-0 to Bahrain and so had been eliminated before kickoff. But they did stop South Korea from topping the group and it was Malaysia’s first point at an Asian Cup since 1980.
Malaysia were actually coached by a South Korean at that point in time. Kim Pan-gon, though he’s since left them for a club gig at Ulsan HD in his homeland. Spaniard Pau Martí Vicente is now the bossman of the team – a former assistant to Josep Gombau at Adelaide United once upon a time, who has also served deep in the Barcelona academy ranks and more recently was Coach Kim’s assistant with Malaysia. He inherited the job in the same way that Darren Bazeley inherited his (only his process took less than one month whereas NZ Football needed nine months to settle on The Bazemeister).
The thing that sticks out immediately looking at Malaysia’s squad is the cultural array of names. This is a team that heavily relies upon heritage and nationalised players. It’s a fascinating mix. Captain Dion Cools was born in Malaysia but played youth footy for Belgium before switching back (he’s got a parent from each). Striker Darren Lok and defender Daniel Ting were born and raised in England but each with a Malaysian parent (and have since made careers in the Malaysian league). Paulo Josué and Endrick are Brazilian but earned citizenship after many years in the local competition. Romel Morales is the same except he’s from Colombia.
There is a chunky core of locals in the side so we’re only talking about a few key players here... but it’s a notable trend – especially since this is something that the All Whites just don’t do any more. There’s far too much homegrown talent to worry about naturalising any Wellington Phoenix pros. We’ve still had a few heritage blokes who never/hardly lived here – definitions of which can be debated but the most recent debutants of that ilk were probably the Ingham Bros – but the last footballing import to become an All White (i.e. someone who was already a pro player when they moved here, not a kid who gained citizenship) would have to be Andrew Durante.
Malaysia are still going after those fellas. They tried to get Go Ahead Eagles (Netherlands) fullback Mats Deijl on board for this tour but FIFA rejected his eligibility claim as his Malaysian heritage was too far back in the bloodline (it’s gotta be grandparents or parents). Chris Wood’s ex-Burnley teammate Josh Brownhill is another whose eligibility has been speculated by Malaysian media, though nothing’s happened there just yet. It’s been a crazy year for Malaysian football because, quite frighteningly, there was also a spate of violent assaults on a trio of Malaysian internationals a little while back. Faisal Halim got the worst of it when he was doused with acid by two unidentified men at a shopping mall, causing serious burns requiring ten days in hospital and several surgeries. Thankfully he’s back playing for his club now, albeit needing to wear a protective mask.
Coincidentally, there is one kiwi player in the Malaysian Super League at the moment. 21-year-old goalie Lawton Green, originally from Tauranga, who spent time in Scotland in the Motherwell academy and then at Morton in the third tier, is now at Kuala Lumpur City where he seems to be the third-choice keeper. Hasn’t actually played a senior game yet, according to TransferMarkt.
Back to the original point, the FIFA rankings aren’t very relevant at the best of times but they’re basically garbage when you get beyond the top fifty. The All Whites drew against the top-20 ranked USA last match and yet dropped a place to 95 on the latest update. So while Malaysia are way down at 132, that probably doesn’t represent the challenge they will offer. The Elo Ratings are typically more reliable and they’ve got NZ at 69 (noice) and Malaysia at 141... with Tahiti at 162. Alrighty then.
There’s no doubt that these are games the All Whites should expect to win but it doesn’t really matter how they do so. It’s the same story as the Football Ferns where it’s almost like there are two distinct categories of games: those against weaker sides where the NZers will control possession and seek to attack, and those against better sides where the other team will do the dictating and NZ’s job is to stay compact and scrappy. It’s the latter that both the All Whites and Football Ferns are trying to aim for because those are the ones they’ll get in major tournaments.
For Bazeley’s Boys, they haven’t played on home soil since March 2023 when they beat China 2-1 in Wellington. That was also their last win against non-OFC opposition (a streak that’s up to nine games after Mexico/USA). Let’s be honest, a lot of the fixtures that the All Whites get don’t give them much of a hope of emerging victorious, at least not consistently, and that’s why it’s important to be ruthless with the ones that do. But bigger picture tactics don’t matter nearly as much as attitude and effort and intensity. Turn up and grind it out. Doesn’t matter how. Just win.
GOALKEEPERS
Max Crocombe – Burton Albion, ENG (11 caps/0 goals)
Alex Paulsen – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (1/0)
Oli Sail – Perth Glory, AUS (9/0)
Same three goalies as we got in the previous window, nothing to see here. Max Crocombe’s Burton Albion have been struggling in England’s League One and are still winless after eight matches but he’s continued to be one of their more consistent performers. Crocs has won Bazeley’s favour as the starting All Whites keeper. Eight of the last nine games have seen him start between the sticks. He was very good against the USA last match. Bazeley might want to mix it up over these next couple windows but Crocombe’s earned his top dawg status.
Keeping him company, pun intended, are Alex Paulsen and Oli Sail once again. Paulsen got close to pushing Crocs for the starting spot earlier in the year but his loan back to the A-League has probably stalled matters in the immediacy. There’s no rush. Both he and Oli Sail are still only in pre-season mode for their ALM sides but there also isn’t really anybody banging on the door to challenge them. Michael Woud’s attempted renaissance got nudged out of the way by Paulsen’s arrival at Auckland FC. Nik Tzanev is only the backup at Northampton Town. Kees Sims and Henry Gray probably need a little more senior football before national team selection becomes a reasonable expectation – although Sims must be getting close having played a few times in the Swedish top division and Gray might is hanging out on the fringes of a Premier League club.
Oli Sail’s presence probably has a lot to do with leadership and experience but that won’t always be enough. Bazeley has begun emphasising the depth of players that he’s picking from and how it’s enabled him to be a little more cut-throat with guys who are out of form or simply not playing much at their clubs. Sail had an up-and-down season with Perth Glory. There were definitely ups as well as downs but the goalkeeper position probably sums up that emerging depth more than any other so he’d better stay on his toes.
DEFENDERS
Tyler Bindon – Reading, ENG (10/0)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United, USA (51/0)
Liberato Cacace – Empoli FC, ITA (27/1)
Tim Payne – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (39/2)
Nando Pijnaker – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (21/0)
Storm Roux – Central Coast Mariners, AUS (11/0)
Tommy Smith – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (56/2)
Sam Sutton – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (3/0)
Look everybody, Storm Roux is back! After winning consecutive A-League championships with Central Coast Mariners it was getting to be rather conspicuous how he kept never being picked for the AWs. The inference seemed to be that it was a decision coming from Roux rather than Bazeley, that the A-League veteran was unofficially retired or at least temporarily unavailable. His last cap for the national team came in Winston Reid’s farewell against Australia in September 2022 and his previous cap before that was Danny Hay’s first game in change – vs Ireland in November 2019. He literally has as many A-League championships as he has international caps across the past seven years. Whatever the reason was for his absence, whoever was making that decision, he’s back for these games and that’s a beautiful thing given the long-term lack of right-back options beyond Tim Payne.
Roux is good enough to at least challenge Payne for game-time, though Payne’s got the incumbency in his favour. It’s a pity that Dalton Wilkins was injured after his call-up last time because he’s capable of playing on either side of a back five or a back four... alas, he hasn’t featured for his club since that injury so was never in contention for this squad. Others who we can assume are missing due to injuries are: Sarpreet Singh, Callum McCowatt, Alex Greive, Matt Dibley-Dias, and the perennial Ryan Thomas. Granted, the further down that list you go, the less likely they’d have been picked anyway (for various reasons).
Tyler Bindon is back after a head knock ruled him out of the USA Tour and cost us the chance to witness American fans pining for the one that got away. He’s been at full capacity for Reading since that window ended so no worries there. Bindon effectively replaces Finn Surman in the squad. Surman isn’t injured so the logical conclusion is that these are relatively low-focus matches and he wants to stay back in Portland to press his case for an MLS debut before the season wraps up. That’s going to be a tricky thing to achieve since Portland are trying to stay afloat in the playoff hunt so they’re not exactly in rotation mode – but coach Phil Neville did say a few weeks back that he wants to get him some game time before the year is done. A promise is a promise, Philip.
No Bill Tuiloma either. Realistically, his late replacement call-up last tour would have had a lot to do with him already being in America. He did get minutes in both games but since then he’s only gotten reserve team footy for Charlotte FC. He’s barely played MLS all year. If you’re not playing you’re probably not getting selected. As it should be. You could argue that a few of the A-League dudes oughta be in the same boat given how long that offseason is... but all of the ALM guys here were at either the Olympics or Nations Cup with the exception of Pijnaker (who was injured at the time but has played for Sligo Rovers in between), Roux, and Rogerson.
The back four against USA was Payne – Surman – Pijnaker – Cacace... so three of the four have returned and Michael Boxall can take Surman’s spot. Or Bindon, who plays left-CB for Reading but would have no problems at RCB. At least one of Pijnaker or Bindon should be starting because the Boxall-Smith veteran combo got sauced against Mexico (salsa’d, perhaps) but hopefully the defenders won’t have too much to do in these games anyway. Except for Libby Cacace who tends to be one of NZ’s most important attackers despite being a left fullback. Still yet to make a Serie A start this year, getting all his minutes off the bench and in cup games, so he’ll be raring to go.
And cover exists in the form of Sam Sutton who earned his three senior caps at the Nations Cup in June. Also had a prominent role at the Olympics. Seems a little weird that he’s earned a recall during his offseason but that’s because James McGarry’s barely playing for Aberdeen, Wilkins is injured, Niko Kirwan hasn’t been the same since his knee injury, Lukas Kelly-Heald is behind him at the Nix, Callan Elliot and Francis de Vries are even less match-ready at Auckland FC, and we’ve already discussed Bill Tuiloma.
One defender who should be on the radar: George Stanger. Scottish-born dual-national who played U20s for New Zealand and has become a ninety-minute player for Ayr United as they attempt to get promoted from the Scottish second tier. Stanger’s been awesome for them. There isn’t a spot for him in this squad but he’s one to be aware of, especially if he does get promoted.
MIDFIELDERS
Matthew Garbett – NAC Breda, NED (24/3)
Cam Howieson – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (20/1)
Alex Rufer – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (15/0)
Marko Stamenic – Olympiacos, GRE (23/1)
Where is Joe Bell? He’s staying at Viking FK. He’s not injured so there’s no lawful reason why he hasn’t been picked but it seems as though there may have been a deal between NZ Football and Viking FK for Bell’s limited participation in subsequent windows in exchange for his Olympic selection. If so then that was a worthy compromise. Bell’s fantastic but he’s not going to be the decisive factor in either match, meanwhile his club side only have a few more games remaining and are trying to qualify for European competition. Two weeks ago Bell missed a match due to yellow card suspension and Viking suffered a devastating loss. Last week he returned to the line-up and was one of the best dudes on the park as they won 4-1 to get the train back on the tracks. He’s important to both teams but Viking need him more right now.
Cam Howieson and Alex Rufer both being picked says plenty about what Bazeley wants to see from these games. These are senior players whose best traits revolve around control. Howieson with his passing/possession. Rufer with his defensive work. It’ll be funky to see what happens down the line when the A-League season gets going because it’s probably a one-or-the-other situation when Bell (and Singh) is available. Won’t speculate on Ryan Thomas or Matt Dibley-Dias because they both need to string a bunch of club games together before even entering the consideration zone. But remember guys like McCowatt and Old can play as eights themselves. Rufer and Howieson are sort of like reverse images of each other for the two kiwi A-League sides (which one is good and which one is bad depends on your affiliation).
Marko Stamenic needs no introduction. He’s the only NZer whose club made it to the league/group phase of the various UEFA competitions this season (male or female) and while he’s been in and out for Olympiacos he seems to be settling in well enough. Easy to envisage him being several classes above in these matches. Matt Garbett should also enjoy the occasions as well – don’t forget he scored the winner in that game against China in Wellington. That puts him in rare company in this squad for having scored a senior international goal in Aotearoa. Amongst these 21 players, it’s Chris Wood with six, Kosta Barbarouses with two, and Tommy Smith and Matt Garbett with one each. That’s all.
FORWARDS
Kosta Barbarouses – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (62/7)
Elijah Just – SKN St Pölten, AUT (28/2)
Ben Old – AS Saint-Etienne, FRA (10/1)
Logan Rogerson – Auckland FC, NZ/AUS (11/1)
Ben Waine – Mansfield Town, ENG (18/6)
Chris Wood – Nottingham Forest, ENG (76/34)
A thought: If Marco Rojas gets the same Wellington Phoenix/Chiefy/NZCIS career revival boost that Kosta Barbarouses got last season then Rojas could potentially knock Barbarouses out of All Whites squads. Merely hypothetical at this stage but maybe it’ll become relevant down the line.
Chris Wood’s had a superb start to his Premier League campaign, already scoring three times in his first six matches for Nottm Forest. It’s the bulkiest role he’s had since his Burnley days and this is arguably with a better team and he is inarguably a better player. The Woodsman could have let this tour slide but he loves nothing more than sniffing out goals. With a bit of luck, these matches will prove helpful in showing those around him how best to utilise the big man’s talents – because his lack of touches/involvement was one of the major issues from that USA tour.
Ben Waine just scored his first goal on loan at Mansfield Town so that’ll boost his confidence right in time for these games. His noggin was responsible for the equaliser against USA. Logan Rogerson also helped with that fluke of a goal, having been a late replacement for that trip. Not sure exactly what he’s done to get into the All Whites mix after hardly having played all year. He was limited by injury at FC Noah and his Auckland FC season hasn’t even begun. At a guess, he’s a profile pick. They wanted someone fast who can run the flanks to complement a squad with lots of inverted wingers and the speedy Rogerson fits the bill. His AFC teammates Liam Gillion, Jesse Randall, and Joey Champness also have similar profiles while the Wellington Phoenix boast one or two such blokes of their own. Not really anyone on the pro scene of that ilk though. Not unless you count the time Libby Cacace came off the bench as a winger for Empoli a few weeks ago (Ben Old is a runner but he’s not that type of runner).
It’s always a bummer when Sarpreet Singh’s magic is missing from the All Whites. When he withdrew from the last squad right after signing in Portugal it felt like one of those slippery club-first situations... but he’s yet to debut for UD Leiria so clearly the injury was obviously legit. He just needs footy. Hopefully he gets it soon because he’s starting to enter Ryan Thomas portals of unluckiness in his career. At least with Thomas it’s only been injuries. Singh strikes bad luck in all manner of directions (the manager change at Bayern, the poor fit with Nürnberg, Regensburg failing to register him, Hansa Rostock getting relegated, et cetera).
Elijah Just is beginning to settle in with St. Pölten having made his first start last week. Ben Old’s been pretty good for a pretty bad Saint-Etienne side, earning praise from fans and critics despite the club’s mostly awful form. Sounds like there could be a managerial change soon though. Matt Garbett’s NAC Breda are also having their struggles acclimatising back to the top tier in Holland but Garbs is playing most weeks. Usually as a winger, hence the mention in this section. However, he did get unused-subbed last match in a loss to FC Twente due to a change in formation. As for Kosta Barbarouses, he’s scored three goals in 10 games under Bazeley and four goals in 52 games for everybody else. His first international goal was against Honduras (in 2012), the other six have all been versus Oceania teams.
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