The All Whites say they’re relishing the chance to be back on football’s biggest stage, 24 hours out from their 2026 FIFA World Cup debut.

Tomorrow at 1pm NZT, New Zealand take on Iran in their opening match of Group G in Los Angeles, 16 years after their last appearance at a FIFA World Cup.

The All Whites’ campaign at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa proved to be an historic one, being the only unbeaten nation at the tournament despite a group stage elimination.

New Zealand captain Chris Wood, along with defender Tommy Smith, are the only players who remain from that 2010 campaign.

Speaking at today’s Match Day-1 press conference to international media, Wood says he feels like the moment has been a long time coming.

“It's excitement, it's a joy to be back here and uh we're looking forward to the challenge we have ahead.

“I think the biggest thing for us will be the occasion, how the players deal with it.

“Until you play on a proper big stage or a big World Cup game, you don't really know what it's like and that'll be the big thing, how the boys can overcome that and still apply their footballing ability and show the world what we can actually do as individuals and as a team.

“I think we'll be focusing on just calming the boys, keeping them ready and keeping them positive to play their own game.”

The ongoing conflict in Iran and the Middle East was also a topic of discussion in today’s press conference.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley says despite the huge amount of attention around this match, the squad is just focused on playing football.

“We've treated it as a normal game. You know, we prepare the same for every international game that we play, and we've done no different for this game.

“We've watched a lot of the previous games. We know the players, like I say, it's for us it's a big game because it's a World Cup game, you know, and we want to do well here at the World Cup and that's really all we've been preparing for.

“I mean, we're expecting a big crowd. You know, all the players prefer playing in big crowds, big atmosphere.

“You know, it's what we came to the World Cup for to play in front of big crowds. So, you know, once you the game gets underway, I mean, Chris will probably tell you, you don't actually notice the crowd who they're cheering for anyway.

“So, you know, it's it'll be great atmosphere and we're really looking forward to that.”

Another topic that’s overshadowed tomorrow’s match between New Zealand and Iran is the social media rise of Tim Payne.

The All Whites defender has shot to fame thanks to Argentine social media star Valen Scarsini, with Payne having amassed nearly 6 million followers on Instagram.

All Whites coach Darren Bazeley says Payne’s popularity hasn’t been a distraction.

“All I know is he’s got a song and there's been a lot of attention, but you know, Payney is a great lad. He's dealt with it very well I haven't seen any difference in his attitude in around the camp or at training.

“From my point of view, I have no issue with how that's sort of worked out.”

Tim Payne’s teammate Chris Wood says the defender’s newfound fame could help the All Whites gather new support.

“I think it's great, I think it's going to bring other nations to look at our team and excitement.

“Who knows, we could be the second team for most countries around the world and that's only going to bring goodness for us.”

Darren Bazeley did reveal there is one injury concern ahead of tomorrow’s opening match, with Matt Garbett under an injury cloud.

“He had a hamstring issue yesterday. So, at this stage he's being monitored by the physio department.

“We've got great medical people looking at him. He's obviously disappointed to not train today. He's a player that you know he likes to train every single day.

“So yeah, that was tough for him today, we're waiting to find out more medical advice on him at this stage.”

The All Whites kick off against Iran at 1pm NZT with the match available live and free on TVNZ+ and TVNZ 1 with coverage beginning from midday.

Article added: Monday 15 June 2026