Today, on June 10, the Ukraine national team will play their second match of the Canadian Shield tournament in Toronto — against New Zealand. Here is information about our opponent.

New Zealand

General Information

As of April 2025, New Zealand held the 86th place in the official FIFA ranking. The national team of New Zealand played its first match on June 17, 1922 against Australia (3:1), their biggest win came on August 16, 1981 over Fiji (13:0), and their worst defeat was on July 11, 1936 to Australia (0:10). The team is nicknamed "All in White."

The New Zealand national team has won the OFC Nations Cup six times (1973, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2016, and 2024).

Squad

In their second match of the Canadian Shield tournament against Ukraine, head coach Darren Bazeley will have 23 players at his disposal.

Goalkeepers: Nikita Tsanev ("Northampton", England), Max Crocombe ("Burton", England), Alex Polson ("Auckland").

Defenders: Tyler Bingham ("Reading", England), Michael Boxall ("Minnesota", USA), Liberato Cacace ("Empoli", Italy), Finn Sermanni ("Portland Timbers", USA), Bill Tuiloma ("Charlotte", USA), Kallan Elliot, Tommy Smith, Francis de Vries (all — "Auckland").

Midfielders: Joe Bell ("Viking", Norway), Matthew Garbutt ("Breda", Netherlands), Elijah Just ("Sankt Pölten", Austria), Callum McCowatt ("Silkeborg", Denmark), Sarpreet Singh ("Leiria", Portugal), Marco Stamenić ("Olympiacos", Greece), Nando Peyrak ("Auckland"), Alex Ruffer ("Wellington Phoenix").

Forwards: Ben Old ("St. Étienne", France), Ben Waine ("Mansfield", England), Chris Wood ("Nottingham Forest", England), Costa Barboutsis ("Wellington Phoenix").

Main Coach

The 52-year-old Englishman Darren Bazeley has been coaching the New Zealand national team since August 1, 2023. He replaced the New Zealander Danny Hay in this position.

Previously, Bazeley worked with New Zealand's "Wanderers" (2013–2015) and "Newcastle Jets" (2020), as well as American team "Colorado Rapids" (2018–2019). From 2015 to 2017 and from 2020 to 2022, he was an assistant coach for the New Zealand national team.

Under Darren Bazeley's leadership, the New Zealand national team has played 22 matches (12 wins, 5 draws, and 5 losses). His main tactical formation is a 4-2-3-1.

Captain

The current captain of the New Zealand national team is Chris Wood, who plays for English club "Nottingham Forest."

At 33 years old, Wood has played 83 matches for his national team, scoring 44 goals. In his club career, besides "Nottingham Forest," he also played for New Zealand's "Cambridge United," "Hamilton Wanderers," and "Waikato FC," as well as English clubs such as "West Bromwich Albion," "Barnsley," "Brighton & Hove Albion," "Birmingham City," "Bristol City," "Millwall," "Leicester City," "Ipswich Town," "Leeds United," and "Burnley."

With Leicester City, Wood won the English Football League Championship (2013/2014). With New Zealand's national team, he won the OFC Nations Cup in 2016. He also holds the record for most goals scored in a single season of the English Football League (2016/2017).

A classic center forward, especially dangerous with his head, Wood is very strong at finishing attacks and possesses a powerful long-range shot. However, he does not stand out for precise passing or defensive work.

The match between the Ukraine national team and New Zealand in the Canadian Shield tournament will take place today in Toronto at BMO Field (kickoff — 11:50 PM).