{"id":2433,"date":"2026-01-02T18:34:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=2433"},"modified":"2026-01-02T18:34:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T18:34:50","slug":"new-zealand-world-cup-2026-preview-best-players-roster-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/?p=2433","title":{"rendered":"New Zealand World Cup 2026 Preview: Best Players, Roster, History"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            POPULAR SEARCHES\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"subnav-title ff-ffc bold fs-23 lh-25 uc pd-b-10\">\n            BROWSE BY\n          <\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd>New Zealand returns to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Oceania\u2019s long-standing representative, carrying a tournament history that includes appearances in 1982 and 2010, with the 2010 squad finishing the group stage unbeaten with three draws. The national team enters this edition after maintaining regional dominance in OFC play, with several players on the roster competing in Europe.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>How they Qualified:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd>In OFC qualifying, New Zealand won all five matches it played with a staggering goal difference of +28. The team only gave up one goal in that span.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>World Cup Group Stage Schedule:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>Previous World Cup appearances:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>What is New Zealand&#8217;s Best Finish in the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>Who&#8217;ll be New Zealand&#8217;s Key Players at the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd>Chris Wood stands as New Zealand\u2019s most accomplished modern-era striker, with 88 nternational caps and a scoring record that ranks among first in the country&#8217;s history. The forward has spent over a decade in the Premier League and Championship, producing consistent goal totals for clubs such as Burnley, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>Who is New Zealand&#8217;s Manager for the World Cup?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd>Darren Bazeley became New Zealand\u2019s head coach after years of involvement in the country\u2019s youth and senior setups, including work with the U-20 and U-23 national teams. His coaching background also features experience as an assistant with the Colorado Rapids and in development roles within New Zealand Football.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>New Zealand&#8217;s All-Time Leading Scorer:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>New Zealand&#8217;s Team Nickname:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><strong>About the country:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"ff-h fs-16 lh-1pt6 mg-b-15 article-content\" data-v-746446fd><i>Want great stories delivered right to your inbox?\u00a0<\/i><i><u>Create or log in to your FOX Sports account<\/u><\/i><i> and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY New Zealand returns to the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Oceania\u2019s long-standing representative, carrying a tournament history that includes appearances in 1982 and 2010, with the 2010 squad finishing the group stage unbeaten with three draws. The national team enters this edition after maintaining regional dominance in OFC play, with several [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}