All Whites World Cup build-up: Darren Bazeley sets US training plan
The first phase of the All Whites’ final preparation for the 2026 World Cup is underway.
Coach Darren Bazeley heads to the United States on Wednesday, ahead of a pre-assembly camp for a number of players.
It wasn’t originally part of the plan but was earmarked as a late solution, to maximise the readiness of individuals whose club seasons finished in early May.
“It’s been a challenging period for us,” Bazeley told the Herald.
“We have players that are still going for their clubs – until just before we leave – and others who finished quite a while ago.
“They need to keep fit and continue training because we can’t have guys coming into a World Cup who haven’t trained for a month. They need to be ready to play.”
There are prominent examples.
Key midfielder Marko Stamenic played his last match for Swansea on May 2, with Matt Garbett (Peterborough) featuring a day later.
Port Vale’s Ben Waine hasn’t taken the field since April 29 while Libby Cacace was only on the bench for the final two matches of Wrexham’s campaign, with his last appearance back in February.
“We were lucky with the Wellington Phoenix,” explained Bazeley.
“They carried on training as a club, knowing that potentially there were some players that needed to keep fit. That has been great.
“But for other guys in Europe their season is over, so they needed something. So we decided to organise something. It’s a bit of a drip feed for when players are finished, when they are ready or have no access to club training … we’ll provide something for them.”
Bazeley and a small group of staff depart on Wednesday, to be joined by half a dozen players from Europe.
The Australasian-based players will leave New Zealand on May 27 for Florida via Los Angeles. The squad will officially assemble on May 28 in Boca Raton, 70km north of Miami, before training begins the next day.
Some players – including skipper Chris Wood – may arrive a day or two later. The Premier League season finishes on May 25, the day the official World Cup release period kicks in.
The All Whites have preparation matches scheduled against Haiti on June 3 (Fort Lauderdale) and England on June 7 (Tampa), though Bazeley will take a case-by-case approach to how he utilises his squad.
“We’ve got a few players that are coming in maybe a little bit fresher,” said Bazeley.
“There’s always that balance between are they game ready, are they fresh? There are other players coming off big seasons, maybe we need to give them a bit of a break and let them rest up, make sure they’re fresh before the Iran game (June 16).
“Once we all get together, talk to them and see how they are in regards to how they finish their club seasons, then we’ll start to know, okay, how many minutes against Haiti, how many minutes against England.
“The main thing is that everyone needs to be ready for the build-up to Iran.”
On a bright note, Bazeley has no doubt that Wood can play a big part in the World Cup, despite a Premier League season where he didn’t feature between late October and mid-April.
“He obviously hasn’t played a lot of minutes in the last few months but he’s fresh, he’s ready,” said Bazeley.
“He tells me he’s fully fit. I don’t think you’ll see the number 9 board going up very often at a World Cup.
“He won’t want to come off, he’ll want to be on the pitch, helping the team score goals and win games of football.
“I’m expecting him to be playing 90 minutes.”
All Whites World Cup schedule.
Preparation
v Haiti – Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 3 11:30am
v England – Tampa, Florida, June 7, 8:00am
World Cup
v Iran – Los Angeles, California, June 16, 1:00pm
v Egypt – Vancouver, June 22, 1:00pm
v Belgium – Vancouver, June 27, 3:00pm
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.
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