 Bell in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Joe Zen Robert Bell[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1999-04-27)27 April 1999 (age 26)[citation needed] | ||
| 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 | 66 | (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 | 28 | (1) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 November 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16 November 2025 | |||
Joe Zen Robert Bell (born 27 April 1999) is a New Zealand professionalfootballer who plays as adefensive midfielder forEliteserien clubViking and theNew Zealand national team.
Bell was born inBristol, England but holds dual citizenship. He was raised inWānaka[2] andChristchurch, attendingMedbury School[3] andChrist's College, Christchurch[4] before moving aged 15 to Wellington to attendScots College[5] and play for the Phoenix.[6]
He started playing football as an eight-year-old forFerrymead Bays.[7]
Bell moved to Wellington to join the Wellington Phoenix Academy under the guidance of Jess Ibrom where he started playing for theWellington Phoenix Reserves in theNew Zealand Football Championship for the2014–15 season, playing 12 games with four starts.[8] He played for the reserves for another two seasons, appearing 14 times in the2015–16 season with 10 starts and eight times with six starts in the2016–17 season.[8] With the New Zealand football championship played over the summer, Bell played forWellington United in theCentral League during the winter.[9]
Bell joined theVirginia Cavaliers who play in theNCAA Division I in theAtlantic Coast Conference. Bell started 55 straight games since joining the University.[10] He scored six goals and had ten assists across three seasons, while also spending time with amateur clubCharlottesville Alliance during the2018 NPSL season.[6][11]
Following his successfulFIFA U-20 World Cup campaign, Bell drew the interest of several European sides, trialing withEliteserien sideViking and eventually being offered a contract. However, with theUniversity of Virginia offering him a full scholarship at year's end, Bell decided to delay going professional to get his degree.[2][12]
Bell had a successful 2019 season with the Cavaliers as co-captain of the team which won theACC Coastal Division and won theACC 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.[13] The Cavaliers entered the2019 NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed. After wins overCampbell,St. John's,SMU andWake Forest, Virginia lost in the final toGeorgetown finishing runner up for the second time in school history.[14] 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.[15]
Bell also won a number of awards both on the field and academic, includingUnited Soccer Coaches Scholar Player of the Year,First Team Scholar All-American,[16]ACC First Team andACC Midfielder of the Year[17] He was also one of three finalists for theMAC Hermann Trophy for best player in the country.[18]
On 10 January 2020, Bell signed a three-year contract withViking in the NorwegianEliteserien.[19][20]
On transfer-deadline day, 31 January 2022, Bell signed a 4½-year contract with reigningDanish Superliga championsBrøndby IF.[21]
On 29 August 2023, Bell returned to Viking, signing a four-year contract with the club.[22]
Bell was selected for theNew Zealand U17 national team that played in the2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.[23] He played in two of the group games, a 0–0 draw withSyria[24] and a 2–1 win overParaguay.[25] As well as their loss to Brazil in the Round of 16 with a stoppage-time penalty seeing them eliminated from the competition.[26]
Bell has played for and captained theNew Zealand U20 national team. Playing in the2018 OFC U-19 Championship where he was the tournament MVP and they qualified for the2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. He has also played and captained the team at the2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea.[8]
Bell made his team debut for theNew Zealand senior national team in a friendly againstIreland, starting in a 3–1 loss.[27]
On 25 June 2021, Bell was called up to the New Zealand squad for the delayed2020 Summer Olympics.[28]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | 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[a] | 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[b] | 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 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Total | 45 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 1 | ||
| Career total | 169 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 180 | 4 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 22 | 1 | |
| 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 |
New Zealand U19
Individual
New Zealand squads | |||||||
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