Sarpreet Singh is the creative midfielder within the current All Whites group.
The All Whites final match of 2025 could also be their most challenging assignment of the year.
Taking on a South American opponent is difficult at any stage – but this Ecuador team, ranked 23rd in the world, look particularly special. It might be the best version of “La Tricolor” in their history, given they came through South American qualifying in second spot, only behind Argentina.
It was a remarkable campaign, as they were defeated just twice in 18 matches (by Argentina and Brazil) and only conceded a scarcely believable five goals. While Colombia (No 13) are higher-ranked and more powerful offensively, they can also be open defensively, which does not seem to be an issue for Ecuador.
And off the back of the energy-sapping 2-1 defeat to Colombia, the All Whites face this game (2.30pm today NZT) after a 72-hour turnaround, which included a day’s travel from Fort Lauderdale to New Jersey. They’ve only had one session on the grass – which was light – given Sunday’s exertions.
While New Zealand will be ready for what is coming – after taking time to adjust against Colombia – the biggest test will be raising their levels again.
“The challenge is that we go again and we become consistent while improving as well,” said coach Darren Bazeley. “[So] the moments that happened the [other] day, can we improve on those moments, in an attacking sense and defending.”
Bazeley outlined three ingredients for a successful outcome. Firstly, the team need to be more decisive in the final third – he mentioned several examples against Colombia where they passed up an opportunity to shoot, especially in the opening 45 minutes.
“It’s something we spoke about at halftime because we got into good areas and then we looked for an extra pass at times [when] you’ve got to take your shot,” said Bazeley. “There’s a mentality to be a bit more ruthless.”
The second is trying to limit the lapses in concentration that led to both Colombian goals – at either end of the match – which were extremely costly in the circumstances.
“We’re starting to become a team that’s got this result-orientated mindset so [it] was disappointing,” said Bazeley. “It’s great learnings for some individuals and as a team about that concentration and dealing with every single moment.”
The third is maintaining their compact defensive shape, a necessity against teams with the pace and verve of Ecuador.
Overall, the All Whites took a lot of confidence from the performance against Colombia. Apart from the two concessions, the clash featured some of their best periods of Bazeley’s tenure, given the opposition and the match’s intensity, particularly in the first hour or so.
“We go into every window obviously trying to achieve results but also just trying to make sure that we keep progressing,” said Bazeley. “[So] it’s just another step for the confidence, being able to live with and play against these types of teams.
“Colombia put a really strong team out. If you look at Norway [last month], they didn’t play a couple of their strongest players on the day but [Colombia] were pretty stacked and we were missing a few. [So] we shocked a lot of people.”
Ahead of today’s match, a few players are carrying “knocks” but nobody is in doubt to play. Bazeley will make a few changes to “freshen things up”. Ben Waine could come in for Kosta Barbarouses, while either Matt Garbett or Elijah Just will likely begin from the bench, given the work rate demanded in the wide positions.
Ben Old is due a start, while Jesse Randall pushed his case again in a cameo against Colombia and will be hard to leave out, even if he offers bench impact. Alex Rufer should also get time at some stage, and Bazeley will carefully manage the minutes of Francis de Vries, given his recent workload for club and country.
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.