Darren Bazeley

Darren Bazeley is the head coach of New Zealand at the 2026 FIFA World Cup — and when the All Whites kick off in Los Angeles on 15 June 2026 he will become the first person in history to have coached at a FIFA U-17 World Cup, a FIFA U-20 World Cup, a men's Olympic football tournament and a senior FIFA World Cup. Born in Northampton, England, on 5 October 1972, he spent most of his playing career as a defender at Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers, with more than 450 senior appearances across English football.

A short spell with the New Zealand Knights in the inaugural A-League season in 2005–06 introduced him to Oceania football. He joined New Zealand Football in 2009 and quietly built a 14-year apprenticeship inside the federation: head coach of the U-17s, then the U-20s, assistant to the senior side, the U-23 Olympic team, plus stints abroad as assistant at Colorado Rapids and Newcastle Jets. His U-20 New Zealand team produced the country's first-ever FIFA U-20 World Cup victory in 2015 and lifted the OFC U-20 title in 2016.

He took the senior job in August 2023, replacing his former Walsall teammate Danny Hay. New Zealand won every OFC qualifier for 2026 by at least three goals and added the 2024 OFC Men's Nations Cup along the way. They are placed in Group C. With Chris Wood, Marko Stamenić, Liberato Cacace and a generation of players Bazeley has personally coached at age-group level, the target is simple: a first New Zealand victory on World Cup soil.