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All Whites vs Belgium | Sat 27th June | 3:00pm (NZT) | BC Place, Vancouver

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Posted June 28, 2026 18:58 · last edited June 28, 2026 19:57

Sounds like Baze wants to go again.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360997129/were-not-far-all-whites-keen-refine-not-rethink-after-falling-short-fifa-world-cup-goals

Did the All Whites get the balance right?

Are they on the path to success wanting to be a possession-based team, even when they come up against the best in the world?

Should there have been a bit more pragmatism? Would it have made a difference?

Some of the football they played in possession was as good as any All Whites team has played. They stepped up to the World Cup stage against Iran and in the first half against Egypt. But on both occasions – and in gifting Belgium an opening goal after withstanding heavy pressure early – their out-of-possession play let them down.

It is that younger core who have led the push for this team to try to express themselves with the ball as much as possible. As coach, Darren Bazeley has viewed his job as overseeing the creation of an environment to enable that and in expressing a desire to go again himself, he said the Iran match and the first half against Egypt – “our best performances in four years” – were “testament” to the “culture and environment” that has been built.

“We’re not far,” was midfielder Marko Stamenić’s assessment. “That’s the feeling I have. Looking over the first two games, we really put our front foot forward, and we could have come out with six points approaching [the Belgium] game, so [there are] a lot of positives.”

When it comes to understanding why they only came out with one point in reality, the emerging consensus amongst the players was that they weren’t bold enough and that they didn’t stick to their chosen approach when they were in front – twice against Iran, both times thanks to Just, and for most of the first half and the start of the second against Egypt, thanks to a Finn Surman header.

Just was the All Whites’ standout player at the World Cup and like his coach, he didn’t want the scoreline against Belgium to be over-emphasised in assessments of their campaign: “When we go down 1-0 nil, we know that we have to win, so then when we open up the game, it probably suits them more, but I’d rather go out [losing] 5-1 than 2-0, if we just sit back the rest of the game”.

A mindset shift from 2010, where the All Whites finished with a 0-0 draw against Paraguay when they needed a win to advance and the use of only two of a possible three subs when there were attacking options on the bench was a major talking point afterwards.

“I actually think that in the first two games, with the three leads we had, we were probably too protective and too safe,” Just continued. “If we were maybe a little bit more brave, it could have been a different story. With hindsight, you can always say one or two things you can change, but overall I think we played well. There are definitely a lot of lessons. It's unfortunate that we have to wait four years for the next opportunity, because I know that there will be a lot of people wanting to go straight away.”

Midfielder Joe Bell said: “To be honest, my biggest takeaway from the tournament is that our biggest strength is with the ball, and I think we've shown that even at the top level we have the ability to frustrate the opponent.

“I think using that as a way to defend is also a strategy. I think we've moved past the idea of just sitting behind the ball and trying to defend and hope for a win. There will be learnings going forward, but there's definitely a balance between the two.”

Forward Ben Old said: “We’ve got a style which promotes a good way of playing. In the first two games, it showed that it was really effective. Obviously this game was a bit more difficult. I don’t think we were naive in any of those matches. We were able to adapt our play style. Maybe we could have been a bit tighter in this game. In the first half, we defended with our lives before we conceded [the first] goal and then we had to chase after that.

“I get [the question, about whether more pragmatism was needed], but I think we showed a lot of people our play style and how it can work against really top-level players and I think going into the next World Cup, we're just going to have to refine that.”

Old said the All Whites still seemed to “have this underdog mentality” in the moments where they went in front: “When we go up, we're then trying to defend the lead, but we need to realise that we were good enough to dominate these teams and be able to get [more goals]”.

Left back Liberato Cacace summed up the situation: “We played a lot of good football, but you can't qualify [for the knockout stage] conceding [three] goals [on average] every game.

“Definitely a lot of learning to take defending in the box, but there's a lot of positives with the ball.”

Refinement, not a rethink, is clearly what the core of this team has in mind as they move forward.

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coochiee edited June 28, 2026 19:57
Sounds like Baze wants to go again.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/360997129/were-not-far-all-whites-keen-refine-not-rethink-after-falling-short-fifa-world-cup-goals

Did the All Whites get the balance right?

Are they on the path to success wanting to be a possession-based team, even when they come up against the best in the world?

Should there have been a bit more pragmatism? Would it have made a difference?

Some of the football they played in possession was as good as any All Whites team has played. They stepped up to the World Cup stage against Iran and in the first half against Egypt. But on both occasions – and in gifting Belgium an opening goal after withstanding heavy pressure early – their out-of-possession play let them down.

It is that younger core who have led the push for this team to try to express themselves with the ball as much as possible. As coach, Darren Bazeley has viewed his job as overseeing the creation of an environment to enable that and in expressing a desire to go again himself, he said the Iran match and the first half against Egypt – “our best performances in four years” – were “testament” to the “culture and environment” that has been built.

“We’re not far,” was midfielder Marko Stamenić’s assessment. “That’s the feeling I have. Looking over the first two games, we really put our front foot forward, and we could have come out with six points approaching [the Belgium] game, so [there are] a lot of positives.”

When it comes to understanding why they only came out with one point in reality, the emerging consensus amongst the players was that they weren’t bold enough and that they didn’t stick to their chosen approach when they were in front – twice against Iran, both times thanks to Just, and for most of the first half and the start of the second against Egypt, thanks to a Finn Surman header.

Just was the All Whites’ standout player at the World Cup and like his coach, he didn’t want the scoreline against Belgium to be over-emphasised in assessments of their campaign: “When we go down 1-0 nil, we know that we have to win, so then when we open up the game, it probably suits them more, but I’d rather go out [losing] 5-1 than 2-0, if we just sit back the rest of the game”.

A mindset shift from 2010, where the All Whites finished with a 0-0 draw against Paraguay when they needed a win to advance and the use of only two of a possible three subs when there were attacking options on the bench was a major talking point afterwards.

“I actually think that in the first two games, with the three leads we had, we were probably too protective and too safe,” Just continued. “If we were maybe a little bit more brave, it could have been a different story. With hindsight, you can always say one or two things you can change, but overall I think we played well. There are definitely a lot of lessons. It's unfortunate that we have to wait four years for the next opportunity, because I know that there will be a lot of people wanting to go straight away.”

Midfielder Joe Bell said: “To be honest, my biggest takeaway from the tournament is that our biggest strength is with the ball, and I think we've shown that even at the top level we have the ability to frustrate the opponent.

“I think using that as a way to defend is also a strategy. I think we've moved past the idea of just sitting behind the ball and trying to defend and hope for a win. There will be learnings going forward, but there's definitely a balance between the two.”
coochiee edited June 28, 2026 19:14
Are they on the path to success wanting to be a possession-based team, even when they come up against the best in the world?

Should there have been a bit more pragmatism? Would it have made a difference?

Some of the football they played in possession was as good as any All Whites team has played. They stepped up to the World Cup stage against Iran and in the first half against Egypt. But on both occasions – and in gifting Belgium an opening goal after withstanding heavy pressure early – their out-of-possession play let them down.