Kiwi football gains momentum after milestone weekend

Riccardo Ball • June 9th, 2025 1:00 pm

Ben Old | Photo: Photosport

In the wake of an historic debut season by Auckland FC, a couple of notable football achievements look to have been lost in the wash over the last couple of days.

The All Whites, ranked No. 86 in the World, beat reigning African champions Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 in the Canadian Shield tournament and, more remarkably, they did it without star skipper Chris Wood on the field for all but the last nine minutes.

The result sealed their seventh straight win, dating back to their draw against the USA last September.

The Cote d’Ivoire side was loaded with players from leading European sides, including Italian team Atalanta, Premier League sides Nottingham Forest and Brighton, as well as numerous clubs in the French top flight.

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The win for Darren Bazeley’s team is important for several reasons; instilling the belief they can compete with teams outside of Oceania, showing that they can find another way to play when Wood isn’t available, and, maybe most important of all, the evolution of the defence.

Tyler Bindon and Finn Surman have a combined age of 41 but played beyond their years and largely looked comfortable against an attack that ply their trade among Europe's elite.

Can they back it up against Ukraine on Wednesday? It’ll be a different challenge but I think it’ll be better suited to the All Whites style.

Auckland City | Photo: Supplied

Betcha odds:

NZ to win - $4.20

Ukraine $1.75

Draw $3.80

Another great result for New Zealand football that you may also have missed was Auckland City’s win against Philadelphia Union - the No. 1 team in Major League Soccer’s Eastern Division.

A 2-0 victory for a semi-pro team out of New Zealand against one of the best in Major League Soccer is a massive boost for the team ahead of the Club World Cup, where they’re given little chance of collecting a result against heavyweights Bayern Munich and Benfica and storied Argentinian side Boca Juniors.

Betcha Club World Cup futures to win Group C:

Bayern Munich - $1.44

Benfica - $3.75

Boca Juniors - $6.50

Auckland City - $151