All Whites striker Kosta Barbarouses has reflected on his role and how New Zealand football has changed since his debut for the national side nearly 18 years ago, after being selected for the 2026 Fifa World Cup squad.
The 36-year-old missed out on the opportunity to go to the 2010tournament in South Africa, the last time they appeared at the competition.
He has had spells in and out of the national team since then, but strong performances in the absence of captain Chris Wood have helped secure him a spot on the plane.
“I think you can see with Woodsy missing the last few windows with his injury, me and Waineo sort of played one game each from the start and so I would like to think I’m ready to play and I want as much of a playing role obviously as possible, as I think everyone would,” Barbarouses said.
“I think even the past couple windows it’s clear to see that I’m well and truly up to it and up for it as well.
“So, I’d love to see, like everyone in our country would, Chris Wood be there and scoring the goals for us and I’ll be ready to support him and the team whether that’s starting, coming on for 45 minutes, 10 minutes, five minutes, I’ll be ready and I’ll be ready to perform.”
Kosta Barbarouses was selected to be part of the All Whites 2026 Fifa World Cup squad. Photo / Photosport
All Whites teammate Sarpreet Singh said the experience of players like Barbarouses and 36-year-old defender Tommy Smith is invaluable.
“They’ve had immense careers, you know, and they can share their experiences with the playing group,” Singh said.
“These guys are so important for us because they’ll guide us in the right direction and we have some very good players and put together with the young ones and these experienced boys, I think the group’s very good.”
Barbarouses also commented on how he felt New Zealand Football has greatly improved since his All Whites debut in 2008 and commended how the organisation looks after players.
“It’s a lot more streamlined and probably professional now, I would say, like not trying to say anything to disrespect how it was before, but we’ve definitely got up to speed with how I’m guessing other national teams run,” he said.
“They’re putting the players first and giving the players what they need to perform and giving us the best chance to perform, which is great to see, I think with the men’s and women’s too and the junior grades.
“So I think there’s always still work to do, but we’re definitely getting better and better and keeping up to speed with what 2026 looks like for a national team.”
