New Zealand Football announced on Saturday head coach Darren Bazeley won’t be reappointed after he steered the team to a draw and two losses at the FIFA World Cup. Bazeley will finish a four-year tenure when his contract ends following two home internationals against India in November. The 54-year-old helped New Zealand qualify for their second senior men’s World Cup campaign, where in June they drew 2-2 against Iran before losses to Egypt, 3-1, and Belgium, 5-1. The All Whites, as the team are known, were the lowest-ranked team at the 48-nation tournament, listed at 86th.
“I believe we have been building something really exciting over the last four years with a young squad of players, so while I won’t be involved with the team, I look forward to seeing how they continue to develop ahead of the next FIFA World Cup as this is a group I really believe in. A former long-serving defender for Watford, English-born Bazeley has coached at various levels in New Zealand for 15 years, including a period as All Whites assistant coach before he replaced Danny Hay in the top job in 2022. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bazeley said he was disappointed to be leaving but accepted there were expectations on New Zealand to advance through the group phase for the first time. “While I would have definitely been keen to be involved for the next cycle, I understand this is a football decision by New Zealand Football and ultimately we didn’t get the results we wanted,” Bazeley said.
