New Zealand

1. Chris Wood – Goals: 33
2. Vaughan Coveny – Goals: 29
3. Shane Smeltz – Goals: 24
4. Steve Sumner – Goals: 22
5. Brian Turner – Goals: 21

Wynton Rufer is generally recognized as the best player in New Zealand’s soccer history. Rufer finished as the top scorer in the Champions League in 1993-94 with Werder Bremen and won four major titles in Germany. Rufer scored the winner in the playoff vs. China that qualified the All Whites for their first ever World Cup. He was named the FIFA Oceania Footballer of the Century.

Ryan Nelsen captained New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup and he played for the national team from 1999 to 2012. The Oceania Footballer of the Year in 2006 and 2010, Nelsen found success in England with Blackburn Rovers. He won two OFC Nations Cups with New Zealand and scored seven goals in 49 appearances, as a defender.

Chris Wood is New Zealand’s all time leading scorer, with 33 goals as of June 2022. Wood was New Zealand’s youngest player at the 2010 World Cup and he helped them win the 2016 OFC Nations Cup. The striker was also named Oceania’s best player of the 2010’s.

Winston Reid is the longtime captain of the New Zealand national team and one of their best ever defenders. Reid scored the goal in the 2010 World Cup that gave New Zealand their first ever FIFA World Cup point. Reid spent over a decade with West Ham United, making over 200 appearances.

Steve Sumner was the first player from Oceania to score in a World Cup match and captained New Zealand at Spain 1982. Sumner once scored six goals in a match for the All Whites, breaking the nat

Not much was expected of New Zealand national football team heading into the 2010 World Cup. In a group with defending champions Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia, the All Whites were the least likely to go through. They were seconds away from an opening match loss to Slovakia but Winston Reid’s equalizer preserved New Zealand’s first ever World Cup point.

In their next match, New Zealand were huge underdogs vs. the Italians. Surprisingly, Shane Smeltz scored the opening goal as the All Whites took an early lead. However, New Zealand conceded a penalty as Italy equalized later on in the first half. The match finished 1-1 and New Zealand were very much still in the running for the knockout stage.

New Zealand’s final match finished in a scoreless draw vs. Paraguay but it wasn’t enough to go through. Slovakia defeated Italy to pip the All Whites to second in the group. New Zealand had a lot to be proud of and even finished ahead of Italy in group play.

New Zealand’s 1982 performance was a stark contrast to 2010’s. They fell 5-2 to Scotland in their opening match and failed to find the net in their last two matches. The All Whites lost to the Soviet Union 3-0 and to Brazil 4-0 for an early elimination.