2025–26 Wellington Phoenix FC season

Wellington Phoenix 2025–26 football season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2025–26 season is Wellington Phoenix Football Club's 19th season in the A-League Men. In addition to the domestic league, the club participated in this season's edition of the Australia Cup.

ChairmanRob Morrison
ManagerGiancarlo Italiano
(to 21 February 2026)
Chris Greenacre
(from 23 February 2026)
Quick facts season, Chairman ...
Wellington Phoenix
2025–26 season
Preseason match between Wellington Phoenix and Wrexham on 19 July 2025.
ChairmanRob Morrison
ManagerGiancarlo Italiano
(to 21 February 2026)
Chris Greenacre
(from 23 February 2026)
StadiumWellington Regional Stadium[i]
A-League Men8th
A-League Men finals seriesDNQ
Australia CupQuarter-final
Top goalscorerLeague: Ifeanyi Eze
(10 goals)

All: Ifeanyi Eze
(10 goals)
Highest home attendance12,091
vs. Auckland FC
(8 November 2025)
A-League Men
Lowest home attendance3,030
vs. Newcastle Jets
(14 December 2025)
A-League Men
Average home league attendance5,697
Biggest win3–0
vs. Brisbane Roar (A)
(3 January 2026)
A-League Men
Biggest defeat0–5
vs. Auckland FC (H)
(21 February 2026)
A-League Men
2026–27 
All statistics correct as of 24 April 2026.
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In the Australia Cup, the Phoenix progressed to the quarter-finals after defeating Perth Glory in a penalty shootout and NPL Victoria 3 team Nunawading City 1–0.[2] Ultimately, the club succumbed to NPL Victoria side Heidelberg United on 19 August 2025.[3] This was the last time the club participated in the Australia Cup, as New Zealand-based teams were omitted from the 2026 edition onwards.[4]

The Phoenix commenced their A-League Men campaign on 18 October 2025 away to Perth Glory.[5] The regular season concluded on 24 April 2026.[6]

In January 2026, it was announced that the naming rights for Wellington Regional Stadium, known as Sky Stadium from 2020–2026, would be renamed Hnry Stadium effective 1 March 2026.[1]

On 21 February, the Phoenix played their third New Zealand derby of the season against Auckland FC, having lost the previous two encounters, they went on to lose 5–0, the highest home defeat of the season. Head coach Giancarlo Italiano resigned minutes after the final whistle during his post-match press, ending his seven-year association with the club.[7][8][9] On 23 February, Chris Greenacre was announced as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[10] Following a successful interim spell, Greenacre was appointed to the position of head coach for the 2026–27 season.[11]

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Other players with first-team appearances

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

More information No., Pos. ...
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Transfers

Transfers in

More information No., Pos. ...
No. Pos. Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref.
7 FW Nigeria Ifeanyi Eze Iraq Al-Karkh Free transfer 1 year 15 July 2025 [12][13]
11 FW Australia Carlo Armiento Unattached Free transfer 1 year 22 July 2025 [14]
10 FW Australia Nikola Mileusnic Perth Glory Free transfer 1 year 13 August 2025 [15]
4 DF Canada Manjrekar James Unattached Free transfer 1 year 21 August 2025 [16]
12 DF Daniel Edwards Australia Avondale FC Free transfer 1 year 15 September 2025 [17]
20 MF Lebanon Ramy Najjarine Unattached Free transfer 1 year 15 September 2025 [18]
28 DF Bill Tuiloma Unattached Free transfer 2.5 years 14 January 2026 [19]
16 MF Norway Sander Kartum Scotland Heart of Midlothian Loan 6 months 16 January 2026 [20]
9 MF Sarpreet Singh Serbia TSC Loan 5 months 6 February 2026 [21]
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From youth squad

More information N, Pos. ...
N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Notes
37 MF New Zealand Anaru Cassidy19 2-year scholarship contract[22]
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Transfers out

More information No., Pos. ...
No. Pos. Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref.
4 DF England Scott Wootton Perth Glory End of contract 30 June 2025 [23][24]
19 DF Sam Sutton Perth Glory End of contract 30 June 2025 [23][25]
7 FW Kosta Barbarouses Western Sydney Wanderers End of contract 30 June 2025 [26][27]
11 FW North Macedonia Stefan Colakovski Unattached End of contract 30 June 2025 [28]
12 MF Portugal Francisco Geraldes Malaysia Johor Darul Ta'zim End of loan 30 June 2025 [28]
35 GK Dublin Boon Unattached End of contract 30 June 2025 [28]
9 FW Japan Hideki Ishige Unattached Mutual contract termination 16 January 2026 [20]
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Contract extensions

More information No., Player / coach ...
No. Player / coach Position Duration Date Notes Ref.
England Chris Greenacre Head coach 1 year[ii] 28 April 2026 Contract upgraded from interim to fulltime head coach. [11]
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Pre-season and friendlies

The Phoenix began their preseason in July 2025, with Wrexham AFC, a Welsh club in the EFL Championship, touring three A-League Men clubs as part of their preseason Wrexham Down Under tour.[29] On 20 September, the club hosted an open day including a fixture against Central League champions Wellington Olympic.[30] On 24 September, the Phoenix confirmed their final three preseason matches in New South Wales against A-League Men opponents Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Central Coast Mariners.[31]

19 July 2025 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 1–0 Wales Wrexham Wellington, New Zealand
17:00 NZST
  • Flowerdew 49'
Report Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 25,399
20 September 2025 Wellington Phoenix New Zealand 6–1 New Zealand Wellington Olympic Upper Hutt, New Zealand
13:00 NZST Report
Stadium: NZCIS
26 September 2025 Sydney FC Australia 1–0 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Sydney, Australia
  • Macallister
Report Stadium: Leichhardt Oval
4 October 2025 Western Sydney Wanderers Australia 1–1 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Australia
Report
12 October 2025 Central Coast Mariners Australia 0–3 New Zealand Wellington Phoenix Gosford, Australia
Report Stadium: polytec Stadium

Competitions

Overall record

More information Competition, First match ...
Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League Men 18 October 2025 24 April 2026 Matchday 1 8th 26 9 6 11 36 48 −12 034.62
Australia Cup 27 July 2025 19 August 2025 Round of 32 Quarter-final 3 1 1 1 2 5 −3 033.33
Total 29 10 7 12 38 53 −15 034.48
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Last updated: 24 April 2026
Source: Competitions

A-League Men

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
6 Melbourne City 26 10 8 8 33 33 0 38 Qualification for Finals series[a]
7 Macarthur FC 26 9 7 10 37 44 7 34
8 Wellington Phoenix[b] 26 9 6 11 36 48 12 33
9 Central Coast Mariners 26 8 8 10 35 42 7 32
10 Perth Glory 26 8 7 11 32 39 7 31
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Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) goals scored; 4) wins; 5) head-to-head results; 5a) head-to-head points; 5b) head-to-head goal difference; 6) Fair Play points; 7) away goal difference; 8) away goals per match; 9) home goal difference; 10) home goals per match; 11) toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
Notes:
  1. The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.
  2. Auckland FC and Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is part of the Oceania Football Confederation.

Results summary

As of 24 April 2026.

More information Overall, Home ...
OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
26 9 6 11 36 48  −12 33 5 2 6 19 23  −4 4 4 5 17 25  −8
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Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...
Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526
GroundAHAHHHAHHAAHAAHHAHHAHAAAHA
ResultDWDLLWLLWLWDWLDLDLLDWWWLWL
Position424786711710910891011101112111087878
Points14555888111114151818191920202021242730303333
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Updated to match(es) played on 24 April 2026. Source: Ultimate A-League
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

The A-League Men fixtures for the season were released on 11 September 2025.[32] On 20 November 2025, the Phoenix confirmed their final home match of the season, set for 18 April 2026, will take place in Christchurch. This marks the second consecutive year the Wellington Phoenix play a match in the South Island city.[33]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixtures

18 October 2025 1 Perth Glory 2–2 Wellington Phoenix Perth
19:45 AWST Report
Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 7,868
Referee: Ben Abraham
26 October 2025 2 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Brisbane Roar Wellington
15:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 6,890
Referee: Daniel Elder
2 November 2025 3 Central Coast Mariners 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Gosford
17:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: Polytec Stadium
Attendance: 4,813
Referee: Tim Danaskos
8 November 2025 4 Wellington Phoenix 1–2 Auckland FC Wellington
19:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 12,091
Referee: Ben Abraham
22 November 2025 5 Wellington Phoenix 0–1 Macarthur FC Wellington
17:00 NZDT Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 3,677
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
29 November 2025 6 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Adelaide United Wellington
17:00 NZDT
Report
  • Garuccio 74'
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 3,063
Referee: Daniel Elder
6 December 2025 7 Auckland FC 3–1 Wellington Phoenix Auckland
17:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Go Media Stadium
Attendance: 21,997
Referee: Adam Kersey
14 December 2025 8 Wellington Phoenix 1–3 Newcastle Jets Wellington
15:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 3,030
Referee: Alex King
21 December 2025 9 Wellington Phoenix 3–1 Central Coast Mariners Wellington
15:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 3,587
Referee: Tim Danaskos
29 December 2025 10 Melbourne Victory 5–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:00 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 10,769
Referee: Shaun Evans
3 January 2026 11 Brisbane Roar 0–3 Wellington Phoenix Kippa-Ring
16:00 AEST Report
Stadium: Kayo Stadium
Attendance: 8,961
Referee: Ben Abraham
11 January 2026 12 Wellington Phoenix 2–2 Adelaide United Wellington
15:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 3,068
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
18 January 2026 13 Sydney FC 0–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
17:00 AEDT Report
Stadium: Allianz Stadium
Attendance: 13,678
Referee: Sam Kelly
23 January 2026 14 Newcastle Jets 4–1 Wellington Phoenix Newcastle
19:35 AEDT Report
Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 8,207
Referee: Declan Woods
30 January 2026 15 Wellington Phoenix 2–2 Melbourne City Wellington
19:00 NZDT
Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 3,679
Referee: Alireza Faghani
6 February 2026 16 Wellington Phoenix 2–3 Melbourne Victory Wellington
19:00 NZDT
Report Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 5,783
Referee: Jack Morgan
13 February 2026 17 Western Sydney Wanderers 2–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: CommBank Stadium
Attendance: 4,461
Referee: Adam Kersey
21 February 2026 18 Wellington Phoenix 0–5 Auckland FC Wellington
17:00 NZDT Report
Stadium: Sky Stadium
Attendance: 10,040
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
1 March 2026 19 Wellington Phoenix 0–1 Sydney FC Wellington
15:00 NZDT Report
Stadium: Hnry Stadium[i]
Attendance: 4,322
Referee: Tim Danaskos
6 March 2026 20 Adelaide United 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Adelaide
19:05 ACDT Report
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 9,111
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro
14 March 2026 21 Wellington Phoenix 2–0 Perth Glory Wellington
15:00 NZDT
Report Stadium: Hnry Stadium[i]
Attendance: 3,766
Referee: Nathan Shakespear
21 March 2026 22 Brisbane Roar 1–2 Wellington Phoenix Brisbane
14:00 AEST
Report
Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 4,826
Referee: Alireza Faghani
5 April 2026 23 Melbourne Victory 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
17:00 AEST Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 8,762
Referee: Nathan Shakespear
12 April 2026 24 Melbourne City 2–0 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
15:00 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 4,896
Referee: Alex King
18 April 2026 25 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Christchurch
17:00 NZST
Report Stadium: Apollo Projects Stadium
Attendance: 11,066
Referee: Benjamin Abraham
24 April 2026 26 Macarthur FC 4–0 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
19:35 AEST
Report Stadium: Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Attendance: 6,013
Referee: Lachlan Keevers

Australia Cup

The round of 32 Australia Cup draw took place on 26 June 2025, with the Phoenix drawing A-League Men rivals Perth Glory.[34] The draw for the round of 16 and subsequent rounds took place on 30 July 2025.[35] This was the last time Wellington Phoenix participated in the Australia Cup, as New Zealand-based teams were omitted from the 2026 edition onwards.[4]

27 July 2025 Round of 32 Perth Glory 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(7–8 p)
Wellington Phoenix Perth
15:00 AWST
Report Stadium: Kingsway Reserve
Attendance: 1,141
Referee: Liam Barclay
Penalties
10 August 2025 Round of 16 Nunawading City 0–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
15:00 AEST Report
Stadium: Nasiol Stadium
Attendance: 1,423
Referee: Eric Saba
19 August 2025 Quarter-finals Heidelberg United 4–0 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:30 AEST
Report Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 1,547
Referee: Lachlan Keevers

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.

As of 24 April 2026
More information No., Pos. ...
No. Pos. Nat. Player A-League Men Australia Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Nigeria Josh Oluwayemi 180 20 200
3 DF New Zealand Corban Piper 15+114 00 264
4 DF Canada Manjrekar James 16+42 00 202
5 MF New Zealand Fin Roa Conchie 7+70 30 170
6 DF New Zealand Tim Payne 13+10 20 160
7 FW Nigeria Ifeanyi Eze 2510 0+20 2710
8 MF Australia Paulo Retre 11+61 0+30 201
9 MF New Zealand Sarpreet Singh 1+10 00 20
10 FW Australia Nikola Mileusnic 0+70 00 70
11 FW Australia Carlo Armiento 19+35 0+20 245
12 DF New Zealand Daniel Edwards 6+30 00 90
14 MF New Zealand Alex Rufer 232 0+10 242
15 DF New Zealand Isaac Hughes 232 30 262
16 MF Norway Sander Kartum 3+92 00 122
17 FW New Zealand Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues 0+30 30 60
18 DF New Zealand Lukas Kelly-Heald 13+100 31 261
20 FW Lebanon Ramy Najjarine 22+22 00 242
23 FW New Zealand Luke Supyk 0+10 1+20 40
24 DF New Zealand Xuan Loke 3+30 30 90
25 MF Japan Kazuki Nagasawa 263 30 293
27 DF New Zealand Matthew Sheridan 19+70 30 290
28 DF New Zealand Bill Tuiloma 12+21 00 141
29 FW New Zealand Luke Brooke-Smith 0+190 2+10 220
30 GK New Zealand Alby Kelly-Heald 3+10 00 40
31 DF New Zealand Ryan Lee 0+10 00 10
37 MF New Zealand Anaru Cassidy 0+20 00 20
39 DF New Zealand Jayden Smith 10 10 20
40 GK New Zealand Eamonn McCarron 5+10 10 70
46 MF New Zealand Lachlan Candy 00 0+10 10
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
9 FW Japan Hideki Ishige 2+10 31 61
42 FW New Zealand Fergus Gillion 00 0+10 10
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Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.

As of 24 April 2026
More information Rank, No. ...
Rank No. Pos. Nat. Name A-League Men Australia Cup Total
Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card Yellow card Yellow card Yellow-red card Red card
1 11 FW Australia Carlo Armiento 301 000 301
2 4 DF Canada Manjrekar James 101 000 101
3 14 MF New Zealand Alex Rufer 800 000 800
4 7 FW Nigeria Ifeanyi Eze 500 000 500
5 15 DF New Zealand Isaac Hughes 400 000 400
6 8 MF Australia Paulo Retre 200 100 300
25 MF Japan Kazuki Nagasawa 200 100 300
8 1 GK Nigeria Josh Oluwayemi 200 000 200
3 DF New Zealand Corban Piper 200 000 200
18 DF New Zealand Lukas Kelly-Heald 200 000 200
24 DF New Zealand Xuan Loke 000 200 200
12 6 DF New Zealand Tim Payne 000 100 100
16 MF Norway Sander Kartum 100 000 100
20 MF Lebanon Ramy Najjarine 100 000 100
27 DF New Zealand Matthew Sheridan 100 000 100
29 DF New Zealand Luke Brooke-Smith 100 000 100
Total 3502 500 4002
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Clean sheets

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

As of 24 April 2026
More information Rank, No. ...
Rank No. Nat. Goalkeeper A-League Men Australia Cup Total
1 40 New Zealand Eamonn McCarron 21 3
2 1 Nigeria Josh Oluwayemi 20 2
Total415
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End of season awards

More information Award, Winner ...
Wellington Phoenix season awards[36]
AwardWinner
Members' under-23 player of the yearIsaac Hughes
Members' player of the yearIfeanyi Eze
Men's goal of the yearAlex Rufer (Rd 7 vs Auckland FC)
Golden bootIfeanyi Eze (10)
Media player of the yearIfeanyi Eze
Players' player of the yearAlex Rufer
Entelar & OPPO men's player of the yearAlex Rufer & Ifeanyi Eze
Lloyd Morrison Spirit of the Phoenix awardMackenzie Barry (women)
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See also

Notes

  1. Known as Sky Stadium from 2020 until 28 February 2026 and as Hnry Stadium from 1 March 2026 onwards.[1]
  2. Option for an additional year.

References

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