Latest news with #KostaBarbarouses
Morocco World
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Morocco World
New Zealand vs. Ukraine: When, How to Watch & Score Prediction
New Zealand return to action tonight against Ukraine in a friendly game with confidence sky-high. Kick-off is at 10 p.m. at BMO Field, Toronto and fans can catch the action live on FS2 and FOX Sports app. Darren Bazeley's men are unbeaten in eight and haven't lost in almost 15 months. The 1-0 win over Cote D'Ivoire last weekend was their fourth clean sheet in a row and their eighth consecutive home victory. Add 34 goals scored across those matches, and the All Whites look primed for another dominant outing. Kosta Barbarouses is likely to lead the line again, flanked by Elijah Just – who netted the winner on Sunday – and Callum McCowatt. In midfield, Joe Bell anchors things with support from Sarpreet Singh and Marko Stamenic. But Tuesday's visitors are no pushovers. Ukraine, under Serhiy Rebrov, will provide a far sterner test than New Zealand's recent opposition. Belgium narrowly beat the Blue and Yellow in their Nations League playoff and are coming off a 4-2 defeat to Canada – a match in which they dominated possession but fell apart defensively. That result was Ukraine's second loss in a row and exposed vulnerabilities at the back. They've conceded seven goals in their last two matches and have only one win from their last five away games. With World Cup qualifiers against France looming, they'll be desperate to turn the tide. Ukraine may be without key midfielder Mykola Shaparenko after he went off injured in the Canada match. Oleksandr Pikhalyonok could step in, while goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk is expected to start after Anatoliy Trubin was taken off at the weekend. Possible lineups: New Zealand: Crocombe; Bindon, Tuiloma, Surman, Cacace; Stamenic, Bell, Singh; Just, Barbarouses, McCowatt Ukraine: Riznyk; Matviyenko, Bondar, Zabarnyi, Tymchyk; Kalyuzhnyi; Tsygankov, Pikhalyonok, Zinchenko, Sudakov; Yaremchuk Predicted score: It's a real test for both sides. New Zealand want to prove they can beat tougher opposition. Ukraine need to rediscover form and defensive shape. Given recent trends, the home side may just have the edge. MWN say: New Zealand 2-1 Ukraine Tags: friendlyNew ZealandUkraine
RNZ News
27-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Kosta Barbarouses to leave Wellington Phoenix
The Wellington Phoenix's inability to retain successful players is in the spotlight again. All Whites striker Kosta Barbarouses is the latest player to turn his back on the A-League club saying he wants to get game time elsewhere ahead of next year's Football World cup. Sports reporter Felicity Reid spoke to Lisa Owen. To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
26-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
Wellington Phoenix star Kosta Barbarouses leaves the club
Photo: Photosport The Wellington Phoenix have lost another key player, with striker Kosta Barbarouses announcing he will leave the A-League club. The veteran All Whites forward has turned down his option of a contract extension and has informed the club he intends to play elsewhere next season. Earlier this month defenders Sam Sutton and Scott Wooton, who had each played over 100 games for the club, announced they were leaving. The club finished 11th this season with just six wins 26 games. Barbarouses, 35, has had three stints with the Phoenix. In the last two years under head coach Giancarlo Italiano he scored 23 goals in 54 A-League matches. Earlier this month he became the club's first three-time winner of the men's player of the year award. The four-time A-League champion signed off by scoring the match-winner in Wellington's Australia Cup playoff against Brisbane Roar in Darwin last week. "The three years I've spent with the Phoenix in my home town have been very special to me," Barbarouses said. "I'm grateful to the fans, the squad and many of the staff members for everything. "The decision to leave has been a very difficult one to make and I wish the Phoenix all the best in the future." Phoenix director of football Shaun Gill is convinced the club did all it could to keep hold of Barbarouses. "Kosta has had two of the best seasons of his career at the Phoenix and we believed he was in the best place to secure selection in the All Whites' World Cup squad," Gill said. "In recognition of his performances over the past two seasons we tabled what we believed was a very competitive contract offer. "We're disappointed he's turned down our contract extension, but we respect his decision and thank him for all of his contributions to the club." The Wellington Phoenix currently have 18 men's players contracted for the 2025-26 A-League season.
NZ Herald
25-04-2025
- Sport
- NZ Herald
By the numbers: Auckland FC on brink of A-League history with Premiers Plate bid
200,000+ Alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages sold at Go Media Stadium throughout the season surpassed 200,000. 40,000 Roughly 40,000 of the 100,000-plus food items sold across the home matches were portions of hot chips. 37,361 The distance travelled in kilometres by goalkeeper Alex Paulsen from Wellington to Auckland, via English Premier League club, Bournemouth. 27,009 The club's largest home attendance marked the highest ever for a regular-season A-League match in New Zealand. That crowd was for Auckland FC's match against the Wellington Phoenix on February 22. 20,000+ Auckland FC jerseys have been sold through direct and third-party channels - 1000 of those have been overseas orders. The club confirmed they were forced to restock merchandise five times across the season, which was three times more than anticipated. October was the club's busiest month of sales. 5,500 Roughly the number of unique cocktails served in the Black Knight members' lounge at Go Media Stadium. 532 532 minutes or 8.9 hours is the length of time it took for Auckland to concede its first goal. The duration broke an Australian football record that had stood since 1986. Their first goal conceded came in their sixth fixture of the season against the Phoenix when Kosta Barbarouses scored in the 82nd minute. 27 27-year-old Joe Champness signed on this month with Iranian top-flight club Havadar without having made a competitive appearance for the Black Knights. 23 The number of goals Auckland FC has conceded marks the fewest in the men's competition this season. 21, 22, 23 The Go Media Stadium bays that are home to The Port - the club's fanbase. 13 Auckland FC are 13 games unbeaten and counting. 11 The number of different goal scorers. Uruguayan import Guillermo May leads the charge with nine goals, Logan Rogerson and Neyder Moreno have eight and seven, respectively. All White defender Nando Pijnaker has four. 11 Auckland FC's squad features 11 players who have had one cap or more for the All Whites. The Wellington Phoenix have seven senior New Zealand men's players. 11 They've had 11 clean sheets in 24 games, highlighting the role AFC Bournemouth goalkeeper Alex Paulsen has played in their success. 10 Goals scored against the Phoenix across their three fixtures. The scores were 2-0, 2-1, and 6-1. 4 Auckland FC was the first A-League team to win its first four games. Their sixth straight victory took the Black Knights past Western Suburbs, which had won five in a row at the start of the 1977 National Soccer League season. 3 Three derbies won against the Wellington Phoenix. 2 arrests, 1 surgery Two people were arrested after an Australian man underwent surgery for facial injuries after a tense confrontation between Auckland FC and Western Sydney Wanderers fans in the stands during a match at Go Media Stadium in April. 1 Champness was the only player to leave the club in its first year. The All Whites midfielder departed eight games into the season in December on 'mutual consent'. Champness later told the Herald: 'At this point in my career, I feel like I'm in my prime years of football. To take up the challenge overseas [is] what I should be doing.' 0 Zero women's teams announced. The Herald reported earlier this month that Auckland FC's plans to launch a women's team next A-League season are facing delays. Despite initial assurances from club management when they launched in November 2023 that the team would be ready for the 2025-26 season, multiple sources indicate that the club has yet to confirm a definitive timeline for its debut.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Zealand join Japan as early qualifiers for 2026 World Cup
New Zealand qualified for their third men's World Cup following a 3-0 win over New Caledonia on Monday. The expansion of the 2026 tournament to 48 teams means Oceania has one automatic spot and New Zealand have gobbled it up as expected. The All Whites have normally had to qualify during play-offs, famously going on to draw with then-holders Italy in the group stage in 2010. They also qualified in 1982. Michael Boxall, Kosta Barbarouses and Elijah Just grabbed the goals for New Zealand on Monday. Japan beat Bahrain 2-0 last week and with it became the first team to qualify for next year's World Cup alongside hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico.
