Head coach Darren Bazeley says the next challenge for his New Zealand men’s national team is to convert possession into more goals.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s friendly international against Poland, Bazeley said his squad had been able to have two training sessions together and were ready for the match in Chorzów.
“We’re obviously going to play our possession game,” Bazeley said.
“We’ve got players that play possession-based football.
“What we’re challenged with is how we can turn that into more goal-scoring moments. We’ll definitely be looking at ‘can we get the ball into the box, and can we create more goalscoring chances.”
Watch Darren Bazeley interview
Poland are ranked #36 in the FIFA men’s world rankings while New Zealand are #83.
Meanwhile, Poland head coach Jan Urban says he’ll use the match to test some fringe players in his squad, and he has hinted that he’ll experiment with their team’s system and playing style.
READ MORE: Polish coach keen to use All Whites match to try out new faces, playing style >>>>
READ MORE: New Zealand’s opponents Poland: 10 things you might want to know >>>>
READ MORE: Big names included in Polish squad to play All Whites in friendly international >>>>
The only newcomer to the All Whites squad is central defender George Stanger who says his call-up is an ‘amazing opportunity” for him.
Stanger (25) plays for Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock, his ninth Scottish club in a seven-year professional career.
Stanger is the son of revered Scottish rugby international winger Tony Stanger, and has played for New Zealand’s OlyWhites, and U-20 and U-23 national sides.
Stanger qualifies to play for New Zealand through his Auckland-born mother, Bid.
Watch George Stanger interview
Squads
READ MORE: Big names included in Polish squad to play All Whites in friendly international >>>>
Player/caps/goals, club
Goalkeepers
Bartłomiej Drągowski (2/0) Panathinaikos, Greece
Kamil Grabara (1/0) VfL Wolfsburg, Germany
Łukasz Skorupski (19/0) Bologna, Italy
Kacper Tobiasz (1/0) Legia Warsaw, Poland
Defenders
Jan Bednarek (71/1) FC Porto, Portugal
Matty Cash (21/4) Aston Villa, England
Tomasz Kędziora (48/3) PAOK, Greece
Jakub Kiwior (37/2) FC Porto, Portugal
Arkadiusz Pyrka (0/0) FC St. Pauli, Germany
Przemysław Wiśniewski (2/0) Spezia, Italy
Paweł Wszołek (16/2) Legia Warsaw, Poland
Jan Ziółkowski (0/0) AS Roma, Italy
Midfielders
Przemysław Frankowski (50/3) Stade Rennais, France
Kamil Grosicki (97/17) Pogoń Szczecin, Poland
Jakub Kamiński (17/3) 1. FC Köln, Germany
Bartosz Kapustka (21/2) Legia Warsaw, Poland
Kacper Kozłowski (21/2) Gaziantep, Turkey
Jakub Piotrowski (12/2) Udinese, Italy
Michał Skóraś (14/2) KAA Gent, Belgium
Bartosz Slisz (19/1) Atlanta United, USA
Sebastian Szymański (47/5) Fenerbahçe, Turkey
Piotr Zieliński (101/14) Inter Milan, Italy
Forwards
Robert Lewandowski (160/86) FC Barcelona, Spain
Krzysztof Piątek (37/12) Al-Duhail, Qatar
Karol Świderski (42/7) Panathinaikos, Greece
READ MORE: Defender Tommy Smith joins All Whites squad in lead up to October internationals >>>>
Player/caps/goals, club
Goalkeepers
Max Crocombe (19/0) Millwall, England
Alex Paulsen (3/0) Lechia Gdańsk, Poland (on loan from Bournemouth, England)
Nik Tzanev (2/0) Newport County, Wales
Defenders
Tyler Bindon (19/3) Sheffield United, England (on loan from Nottingham Forest, England)
Michael Boxall (58/1) Minnesota United, United States
Francis de Vries (13/1) Auckland FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Lukas Kelly-Heald (3/0) Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Tim Payne (45/3) Wellington Phoenix, Aotearoa New Zealand
Tommy Smith (56/2) Braintree Town, England
George Stanger (debut) Kilmarnock, Scotland
Finn Surman (11/1) Portland Timbers, United States
Midfielders
Joe Bell (28/1) Viking FK, Norway
Andre de Jong (10/2) Stellenbosch, South Africa
Matt Garbett (32/5) Peterborough United, England
Callum McCowatt (26/4) Silkeborg IF, Denmark
Ben Old (16/1) AS Saint-Étienne, France
Owen Parker-Price (debut) Örgryte, Sweden
Sarpreet Singh (22/3) FK TSC Bačka Topola, Serbia
Marko Stamenić (31/3) Swansea City, Wales
Ryan Thomas (21/3) PEC Zwolle, Netherlands
Bill Tuiloma (43/4) Charlotte FC, United States
Forwards
Ben Waine (24/8) Port Vale, England
Chris Wood (86/45) Nottingham Forest, England
Withdrawals
Eli Just (38/8) Motherwell, Scotland — injury
Dalton Wilkins (3/0) Kolding IF, Denmark (on loan from Sønderjyske, Denmark) — injury
The All Whites train at Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, the venue for Friday’s match.
Fixtures
Game to be played on Friday October 10, 2025 (NZT)
Poland v New Zealand
Stadion Śląski, Chorzów, Poland, 7.45am (NZT)
Game to be played on Wednesday October 15, 2025 (NZT)
Norway v New Zealand
Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo, Norway, 5am (NZT)
This story was first published on October 9, 2025.