The All Whites have been defeated 2-0 by a strong Ecuador side in New Jersey in their final game of 2025.

Looking to bounce back from the last-minute 2-1 loss to Colombia at the weekend, the team started well at Sports Illustrated Stadium, home of MLS side New York Red Bulls.

Head coach Darren Bazeley made four changes, with Ben Waine, Ben Old, Alex Rufer and Tyler Bindon starting. The last two came in for Joe Bell and Michael Boxall, who were on managed minutes after a long season for club and country.

Both sides traded early chances, with Francis de Vries’ set pieces creating moments for the All Whites.

As the first half unfolded, Ecuador began to dominate, buoyed by their impressive record this year. They are completely unbeaten, having conceded only three goals in nine games.

Level at 0-0 at the break, it took until the 50th minute for Ecuador to make the breakthrough, cheered on by the thousands of Ecuadorian fans in the stands.

Gonzalo Plata played a neat one-two with John Yeboah, who, on receiving the ball, flashed it across the box to the feet of the onrushing Nilson Angulo to open the scoring past Max Crocombe, who had a great game in the All Whites’ net overall.

Moments later, the All Whites had a good chance to equalise.

Ben Old was put through on goal and looked in a strong position to score, but his effort was blocked by PSG centre-back Willian Pacho.

Pushing to get back into the game, the All Whites tweaked their shape, bringing on Matt Garbett and Kosta Barbarouses in the 66th minute, and Jesse Randall, Owen Parker-Price and James McGarry in the 81st.

But with Aotearoa pushing for an equaliser, it created more opportunities for Ecuador to add to their tally, which they did in the 83rd minute.

Plata was again involved, but his shot was blocked, rebounding to Leonardo Campana to slot home from close range with under 10 minutes left to play.

The game ended 2-0 to Ecuador, with the All Whites not quite able to match their levels from the Colombia game, but with big lessons learnt ahead of finding out who the team will face at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in early December.

Full Time

All Whites 0
Ecuador 2 (50’ Nilson Angulo, 83’Leonardo Campana)

Article added: Wednesday 19 November 2025