Joe Bell (footballer)
New Zealand footballer (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joe Zen Robert Bell (born 27 April 1999) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Eliteserien club Viking and the New Zealand national team.
|
Bell in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joe Zen Robert Bell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 27 April 1999[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Bristol, England | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Viking | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2007–2012 | Ferrymead Bays | ||
| 2013 | Nomads United | ||
| 2014 | Miramar Rangers | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2017–2019 | Virginia Cavaliers | 60 | (10) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2017 | Wellington Phoenix Reserves | 34 | (0) |
| 2018 | Charlottesville Alliance | 3 | (1) |
| 2020–2022 | Viking | 56 | (3) |
| 2022–2023 | Brøndby IF | 34 | (0) |
| 2023– | Viking | 74 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | New Zealand U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2016–2019 | New Zealand U20 | 15 | (3) |
| 2021–2024 | New Zealand Olympic (O.P.) | 7 | (0) |
| 2019– | New Zealand | 31 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 09:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 09:10, 26 May 2026 (UTC) | |||
Early and personal life
Bell was born in Bristol, England but holds dual British and New Zealand citizenship. He was raised in Wānaka[3] and Christchurch, attending Medbury School[4] and Christ's College, Christchurch[5] before moving aged 15 to Wellington to attend Scots College[6] and play for the Phoenix.[7]
He started playing football as an eight-year-old for Ferrymead Bays.[8]
Club career
Wellington Phoenix Reserves
Bell moved to Wellington to join the Wellington Phoenix Academy under the guidance of Jess Ibrom where he started playing for the Wellington Phoenix Reserves in the New Zealand Football Championship for the 2014–15 season, playing 12 games with four starts.[9] He played for the reserves for another two seasons, appearing 14 times in the 2015–16 season with 10 starts and eight times with six starts in the 2016–17 season.[9] With the New Zealand football championship played over the summer, Bell played for Wellington United in the Central League during the winter.[10]
Virginia Cavaliers
Bell joined the Virginia Cavaliers who play in the NCAA Division I in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Bell started 55 straight games since joining the university.[11] He scored six goals and had ten assists across three seasons, while also spending time with amateur club Charlottesville Alliance during the 2018 NPSL season.[7][12]
Following his successful FIFA U-20 World Cup campaign, Bell drew the interest of several European sides, trialing with Eliteserien side Viking and eventually being offered a contract. However, with the University of Virginia offering him a full scholarship at year's end, Bell decided to delay going professional to get his degree.[3][13]
Bell had a successful 2019 season with the Cavaliers as co-captain of the team which won the ACC Coastal Division and won the ACC men's tournament for the first time since 2009. The team ended the season winning 21 games, which was one shy of a school record.[14] The Cavaliers entered the 2019 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed. After wins over Campbell, St. John's, SMU and Wake Forest, Virginia lost in the final to Georgetown finishing runner up for the second time in school history.[15] Bell ended the season playing 21 games of which he started all 21 of them, only missing two games during the ACC tournament while on International duty. He scored seven goals, of which four came during the NCAA tournament, as well as had four assists.[16]
Bell also won a number of awards both on the field and academic, including United Soccer Coaches Scholar Player of the Year, First Team Scholar All-American,[17] ACC First Team and ACC Midfielder of the Year[18] He was also one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy for best player in the country.[19]
Viking
On 10 January 2020, Bell signed a three-year contract with Viking in the Norwegian Eliteserien.[20][21]
Brøndby IF
On transfer deadline day, 31 January 2022, Bell signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with reigning Danish Superliga champions Brøndby IF.[22]
Return to Viking
On 29 August 2023, Bell returned to Viking, signing a four-year contract with the club.[23] He was named in the Eliteserien Team of the Year as Viking won the 2025 Eliteserien.[24][25]
International career
U17
Bell was selected for the New Zealand U17 national team that played in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[26] He played in two of the group games, a 0–0 draw with Syria[27] and a 2–1 win over Paraguay.[28] As well as their loss to Brazil in the Round of 16 with a stoppage-time penalty seeing them eliminated from the competition.[29]
U20
Bell has played for and captained the New Zealand U20 national team. Playing in the 2018 OFC U-19 Championship where he was the tournament MVP and they qualified for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. He has also played and captained the team at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea.[9]
Senior
Bell made his team debut for the New Zealand senior national team in a friendly against Ireland, starting in a 3–1 loss.[30]
On 25 June 2021, Bell was called up to the New Zealand squad for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics.[31]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup[a] | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Wellington Phoenix Reserves |
2014–15 | Premiership | 12 | 0 | — | — | 12 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 14 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| 2016–17 | 8 | 0 | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 34 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 0 | ||||
| Viking | 2020 | Eliteserien | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 30 | 2 |
| 2021 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| Total | 56 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 58 | 3 | ||
| Brøndby | 2021–22 | Danish Superliga | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 15 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 23 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Total | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 39 | 0 | ||
| Viking | 2023 | Eliteserien | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 28 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 31 | 0 | |||
| 2025 | 29 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 3[c] | 0 | 37 | 3 | ||
| 2026 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Total | 74 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 86 | 3 | ||
| Career total | 198 | 6 | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 217 | 6 | ||
- Includes Norwegian Football Cup, Danish Cup
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 30 March 2026[33]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 31 | 1 | |
- Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bell goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 March 2022 | Grand Hamad Stadium, Doha, Qatar |  Solomon Islands | 3–0 | 5–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Viking
New Zealand U19
- OFC U-19 Championship: 2018
- 2018 OFC U-19 Championship Golden Ball[34]
Individual
- All-ACC Team Awards – Freshman Team 2017, Third Team 2018, First Team 2019 and ACC Midfielder of the Year: 2019
- TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year Award: 2019
- Soccer America Player of the Year Award: 2019
- Eliteserien Player of the Month: August 2021[35]
