Wellington Phoenix head coach Giancarlo Italiano has mixed feelings as to whether the international break came at a good time for his men’s A-League side.
“It was good to alleviate some of the niggles and some of the boys had a little bit of fatigue,” he said ahead of Saturday’s home fixture against Macarthur.
“But in terms of going out and wanting to play and execute and fix some of the things that we’ve identified, it’s a little bit frustrating when you don’t play for two weeks.
“You get a little bit of good and a little bit of bad, but we’ve made the most out of these two weeks.
“We’ve worked on principle and philosophy stuff, which has been great. We’ve also been able to readdress some of our attacking principles … so in that respect it’s been very good.
“But the frustrating thing is not playing in two weeks, you’re just itching to get back to play well.”
What has also frustrated Italiano was the team’s failure to capitalise on playing against a 10-men Auckland FC side prior to the international break.
“The emotion consumed the players, I think, in terms of they felt like they needed to capitalise then and there, which went away from what we were doing. That’s something that was addressed.
“It was a really good opportunity for us to delve down into game management and what’s required when things like that happen, and that the process is the most important thing. The players agreed with that.
“I also showed them some stats that showed the markers of how we’re doing well this season and that if the trend continues, we’ll get rewarded. It was a good reflection.”
He is sticking to the much-talked-about high line.
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“The boys have all bought into it. It’s more execution errors at the moment as opposed to issues with the tactics themselves. |
“With the least amount of shots in the league at the moment conceded against us, it is working, it’s just that we need to be switched on for the whole 90 in order for it to work effectively.
“We had a review straight after the Auckland game and addressed a couple of issues, but what I wanted to see was a response after the game and the energy has been very good.”
The Phoenix have won eight of their previous 13 encounters with Macarthur FC, who enter the round a place and a point behind Wellington on the A-League ladder.
Italiano is full of respect for the Bulls and a number of their players.
“We’ve identified Bratts (Luke Brattan) as their playmaker. He’s a very good player, very good on the ball and likes to run the game so we need to give him a bit of attention and make sure that he doesn’t get a stranglehold of the possession.
“[Harry] Sawyer is a direct outlet, he’s very good, and Anthony Caceres is a very good player, technically very good and a smart player.
“We need to make sure we neutralise their threats. They’re going to be a tough team to play.”
Past meetings
Most recent meeting: 20 January 2025 – Macarthur FC 1 Wellington Phoenix 2
All-time A-League head-to-head: Phoenix 8W, Macarthur 3W & 2D.
How to watch
The game will be broadcast live and free on Sky Open and live on Sky Sport 3 in New Zealand, and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Acknowledgement
We thank the Wellington Phoenix for providing information for this story.
Fixture
Game to be played on Saturday November 22, 2025
Men’s A-League
Wellington Phoenix v Macarthur
Sky Stadium, Wellington, 5pm (NZT)
Pos
Club
MP
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Auckland FC
4
3
1
0
5
2
+3
10
2
Sydney FC
4
3
0
1
9
3
+6
9
3
Adelaide United
5
3
0
2
10
6
+4
9
4
Melbourne City
5
2
2
1
8
5
+3
8
5
Brisbane Roar
4
2
1
1
5
2
+3
7
6
Central Coast Mariners
4
2
1
1
5
5
0
7
7
Wellington Phoenix
4
1
2
1
6
6
0
5
8
Macarthur
4
1
1
2
3
5
-2
4
9
Melbourne Victory
4
1
1
2
4
7
-3
4
10
Newcastle Jets
4
1
0
3
8
12
-4
3
11
Western Sydney Wanderers
4
0
2
2
5
8
-3
2
12
Perth Glory
4
0
1
3
2
9
-7
1
Table at 8am (NZT) on Saturday November 22, 2025
Squads
Wellington Phoenix (two to be omitted)
1. Josh Oluwayemi (Gk), 3. Corban Piper, 4. Manjrekar James, 5. Fin Roa Conchie, 7. Ifeanyi Eze, 11. Carlo Armiento, 12. Dan Edwards, 14. Alex Rufer (captain), 15. Isaac Hughes, 17. Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, 18. Lukas Kelly-Heald, 20. Ramy Najjarine, 23. Luke Supyk, 24. Xuan Loke, 25. Kazuki Nagasawa, 27. Matt Sheridan, 29. Luke Brooke-Smith, 37. Anaru Cassidy, 39. Jayden Smith, 40. Eamonn McCarron (Gk).
Ins: 4. Manjrekar James (returning from injury)
Out: 48. Mac Munro (omitted).
Unavailable: 6. Tim Payne (injured), 8. Paulo Retre (injured), 9. Hideki Ishige (injured), 10. Nikola Mileusnic (injured), 19. Nathan Walker (injured)
Macarthur Bulls (two to be omitted)
1. Alex Robinson, 3. Damien Da Silva, 5. Matthew Jurman, 6. Tomislav Uskok, 7. Sime Grzan, 8. Luke Vickery, 10. Anthony Cáceres, 11. Bernardo, 12. Filip Kurto, 13. Rafael Duran Martinez, 14. Kristian Popovic, 17. Oliver Randazzo, 18. Walter Scott, 19. Harry Politidis, 22. Liam Rose, 25. Callum Talbot, 26. Luke Brattan, 28. Harrison Sawyer, 29. Zane Helweh, 33. Dong-won Ji.
Ins: 11. Bernardo (return from injury), 14. Kristian Popovic (promoted).
Outs: 23. Frans Deli (omitted), 32. Will McKay (omitted), 35. Henrique Oliveira (U-17 Joeys Duty).
Unavailable: 9. Chris Ikonomidis (injured), 24. Dean Bosnjak (injured), 31. Sebastian Krslovic (injured).
Officials
Referee: Jonathan Barreiro.
Assistant referees: Adam Powers, Ashley Beecham.
Fourth official: Calvin Berg.
VAR: Tim Danaskos.
Assistant VAR: Daniel Ilievski.
This story was first published on November 21, 2025.
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