All Whites’ striker Kosta Barbarouses on cusp of long-awaited World Cup

Kosta Barbarouses is now twice the age he was when he debuted for the All Whites. You may need to re-read that line to get your head around it.

His first game for New Zealand – a 2-0 defeat to Fiji in Lautoka in November 2008 – was before anyone else in the current side debuted for the All Whites, including fellow stalwarts Chris Wood (2009), Michael Boxall (2011) and Tim Payne (2012).

Barbarouses’ debut is best remembered for the red card shown to goalkeeper Glen Moss, which eventually led to a four-game ban, and prevented his involvement at the 2010 World Cup.

At least Moss was on the plane to South Africa though; an 18-year-old Barbarouses would have to wait until 2011 for another chance in the national side.

Barbarouses was on the books of Wellington Phoenix when he was first capped by Ricki Herbert, who was also his club coach.

Barbarouses later claimed his move to Brisbane Roar before the 2009/10 A-League season played a part in his omission from the All Whites.

Herbert denied the allegations saying “There’s absolutely no context to it whatsoever”.

Whatever was behind it, it prevented one of our brightest talents from experiencing a football World Cup. Barbarouses was part of the New Zealand teams which lost World Cup intercontinental playoffs to Mexico (2013), Peru (2017) and Costa Rica (2021).

In the last of those ties, he was shown a red card after being introduced from the bench.

It was an incident he later admitted had simmered beneath his consciousness, regularly bubbling above it, haunting him for the three years that followed.

When he scored the second goal in New Zealand’s 3-0 win over New Caledonia last March, which punched the All Whites’ ticket to this year’s World Cup, the relief was as palpable as his satisfaction.

As football’s four-yearly showpiece now looms large, the 70-cap, now 36-year-old striker is set to cap his stellar career with the one milestone to have eluded him.

“The possibility of it has invigorated me for the last few years,” admits Barbarouses.

“If anything, I’ve had more of a spark to reach my goals in the last four or five years than before.

“There was a period in my mid to late 20s where things didn’t exactly get stale, but there wasn’t always a light at the end of the tunnel.

“With this (World Cup) carrot dangling at the end, it’s given me a bit of a spark.”

Barbarouses has achieved plenty in a career approaching its third decade. He’s one of just four players to score a century of A-League goals, with 107 across stints at Wellington, Brisbane, Melbourne Victory, Sydney FC and now the Western Sydney Wanderers.

His 371 career matches place him third on the all-time appearance list and he’s won multiple A-League Premierships and Championships, while also playing in Russia and Greece.

But every player dreams of a World Cup, and Barbarouses is on the cusp of ticking that box.

He’ll do so with what he believes is the best squad New Zealand has had during his time.

“What the 2010 team did is always going to be in our history, and obviously the ’82 team were trailblazers. We’ve got to carve our own path.

“In the last four or five years, the group has just gone up another level. We’re a strong, athletic, technical team, which is what football is these days. We’ve got players playing at good levels and we’ve got a good dynamic as well.”

The All Whites will play their final home matches before the World Cup in the days ahead, facing world No 75 Finland tomorrow and 55th-ranked Chile on Monday, both at Eden Park.

With Wood and Boxall among some notable injury-enforced absentees, Barbarouses is set to play an even more important role. Coach Darren Bazeley will then finalise his 26-man squad for June, where New Zealand will play pool matches against Iran, Egypt and Belgium.

Barbarouses is certain to be included this time and will finally dismiss his – until now – unscratched itch.

“Football has a funny way of always challenging you and then rewarding you too,” he says.

“As long as you put in the hard work, there are always new ways to find motivation.

“I’m hoping to make my kids proud. There wouldn’t be much that would mean more to me than doing that.”