All Whites 1-2 Japan: One Last Dance Before The Big Ones
Alright, that’s it then. No more tests and no more experiments. The next time the All Whites play will be against the South American representatives in the Intercontinental Playoffs of World Cup Qualification. Which means that whatever final incarnation they’ve been building towards they’d better have figured it out by now because they’re all out of games and they’re almost out of training sessions too.
Japan don’t offer a style of play that’ll mirror what Argentina/Chile/Colombia/Peru/Paraguay will bring to Wellington but they did give the All Whites a significant step up in opposition which is even more important. Especially early on when the pace of the game was enough to leave you dizzy and none of it was down to the kiwi side – safe to say they took a few hits before they could catch up with the Japanese playmakers.
But they survived that early nightmare thanks largely to a fellow by the name of Winston Reid. Some bloke they called in unexpectedly for this match who had only played twice for the national team since the beginning of 2016. Which is fewer games in that period of time than such pedigreed talents as Luke Adams, Louis Fenton, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Logan Rogerson, Luka Prelevic, Alex Rufer and Liam Graham. And the same amount as Myer Bevan who made his international debut two games ago. That’s Uncle Tony for you though, always showing faith in his young projects.
Deklan Wynne was injured, a slight muscle thing which he’d been dealing with at Vancouver already. So he was left out and curiously it was Kip Colvey who got the nod at left wing back over the left-footed Tom Doyle while Dane Ingham started on the right. It’s hard as hell to put any pattern to what Huddo does with his wing backs and there’ll be further words spilled on that particular situation early next week, keep them eyes peeled. Otherwise it was business as usual aside from Mike Boxall playing on the left of defence to accommodate a lack of Tommy Smith and the lack of lack of Andy Durante getting picked over Sam Brotherton (very fair)… or my pre-match smokey of Bill Tuiloma at LCB, which was never really gonna happen now was it?
It would’ve been nice to see Tuiloma earlier than the 80th minute though. It’s just hard not to think we could use a proper defensive midfielder in there along with all the hobbits. Having said that, Mike McGlinchey earned his 50th cap in this one and has been one of Huddo’s faves for ages now (no player has played in more games under Anthony Hudson, Stefan Marinovic is level with him on 22/25 appearances). Not easy to make a case to drop him and that’s even stronger for Ryan Thomas.
Thommo didn’t have his best game against Japan but he’s been in brilliant form for PEC Zwolle this season and it’s clear now – to the point of blatant fish-slapping obviousness – that his best position is in central midfield. His passing is wasted out wide and he’s enough of a worker to get in those attacking positions anyway. Plus, like, the All Whites don’t even use wingers any more. You want him on the ball in the middle where he can dictate things. Wee Mac is also quality on the ball, that pass that he chipped through for Woody late in the first half, the one which Wood tried to smash on the volley from the edge of the box and put it off target, was pretty stunning.
However when you don’t have the ball for almost the entirety of the first quarter of the game then having two Shire-dwellers there perhaps ain’t the ideal situation. Particularly not when Marco Rojas and Kosta Barbarouses are the next two players up the park. Rojas spent a good portion of that time sitting in and helping Dane Ingham out while Thommo was getting sucked out left. Three central defenders make for a quality wall but there wasn’t much protecting them. And Dura had a couple moments of hesitation in there too – remember his club season hasn’t even started yet. Boxall and Reid, on the other hand, in the middle of their club stuff already, were fantastic. Especially Reid. He’s the mythical being forged in the Black & White lodge to destroy the threat of crosses into the box. If you put that thing in the air anywhere near him then you may as well just give up right then and there.
Of course, you know that thing about the midfield? Yeah they weren’t there to latch onto those clearances so they tended to come right on back. Tuiloma might not make the difference but it seems worth a try. Whichever South American team we play is only gonna be more physical, feistier in the middle of the park, than this Japan team. Seems like precautions might need to be taken.
That opening onslaught was frustrating to watch but once the game settled down it levelled out. Partly Japan cooling off from their early temperatures but also the All Whites finding a few footholds in the cliff-face. It took a bit of hindsight to come to this conclusion but you’ve gotta remember that this NZ team is not used to playing at this level. The Confederations Cup helps, sure, but how’d we go there again? Scored one and conceded eight, that’s right. Winston Reid plays at this standard every week, higher in fact. Chris Wood does too now. Boxall has been a regular in the MLS the last few months. Is it any surprise they looked like the three best in the first half? (When Wood was able to get involved, that is).
Marinovic has only started three times since joining Vancouver. Ingham, Durante, McGlinchey and Barbarouses are A-League players who’d been in preseason before this national team trip. Kip Colvey is playing reserves in America. Thomas and Rojas are at a decent height in Holland but the level there varies quite a bit between the top and the bottom of the division – and besides, Rojas has only started one league game. That’s still a very high standard and probably a style of footy that suits the Japanese approach too so maybe they shouldn’t be listed here (Rojas’ Heerenveen teammate Yuki Kobayashi was one of the first off the bench for Japan) … but the point stands for the rest of them. We’re so damn close to an All Whites team entirely full of professionals – we’d be there already if Moses Dyer was replaced by, say, Clayton Lewis or Tyler Boyd or Jeremy Brockie. Next step is to get them all playing regularly.
They got away with the tardiness out of the blocks thanks to the frame of the goal and some poor finishing from Shinji Kagawa (amongst one or two others). They definitely cannot afford to start that slowly against Argentina or Chile or it’ll be nothing but pure luck if they get back into the sheds without conceding. Good thing is by then the A-League folks will be into the thick of things and… well, the American season will be finished for those that don’t make the playoffs, which is no good. Boxall’s the only regular at the moment and his Minnesota team are a bit too crap for knockout footy. Then again, that gives him a week off to ensure prime fitness before the first leg.
Can’t really argue with the penalty call, even if it was a complete accident on Dura’s part. It’s tempting to make something about the fact that they’ve now given away four penalties in their last three games but bugger it. The circumstances were all unique enough to belie any trends… although if you sit back and invite shots at goal then the odd one might catch a stray limb on the way through. It can happen. Sorta surprised Marinovic didn’t save any of the quartet of spotties, to be honest.
Good goal from Wood. Kosta did his usual thing of working really hard to get in a good position then he ran at a couple guys and lost the ball… only Rojas pounced on it and stood one up beautifully for Wood to nod down and in. It certainly didn’t come out of the blue although to think we were suddenly level was a bit much. There had been chances, Thomas had a snap shot or two, the odd set piece.
By the way, you know at club training when you practice corner kicks at the end and it’s already cold and dark and you’re all standing there waiting in the middle for something to throw a head or a volley at while the taker smashes the first one out behind the goal and then the next one low at the first man but it’s all good coz it’s only training and he’s got a dozen footballs to smash over here and this is the best dead ball striker in the team so they’ll get at least half of them into good positions except you know that on Saturday they only get one chance and it’ll probably end up hitting the side-netting on the full? Do you think that happens at All Whites trainings? Because some of their corners and free kicks are truly bad.
The last fifteen was a lot like the first fifteen as Japan subbed on blokes like Takashi Inui and Takuma Asano and really went for the win. New Zealand could have tried to win it themselves and the addition of Shane Smeltz into the game made it look like they’d give it a good go but Hudson’s other three subs were all defensive. Doyle replaced Colvey which might have been pre-planned, making sure they each got some time out there. Little odd that it meant Ingham played the whole match when he wasn’t fit enough to even maintain his squad status last time but he must’ve been hitting the gym since. Then off came Rojas with Tzimopoulos replacing him, Thommo pushing forward a bit, and Tuiloma got the last ten minutes in place of McGlinchey.
On the other side, Japan replaced every player in their team outside of the back four and goalie. All attacking subs. That’s an indication of depth more than anything, however it also set the tone for the rest of the game. With fresh wingers out there Japan were more willing to hit New Zealand from the flanks and they finally started sending two-man overloads to work over the wide defenders, particularly Dane Ingham. It’s almost like they watched the Confederations Cup footage.
Eventually that pressure resulted in the winning goal, a cross from Ingham’s side nodded back across by Hiroki Sakai and Shu Kurata put it away with less than three minutes left in the regular ninety. Ah well. Can’t say the home side didn’t deserve it and the kiwis very clearly needed the hit out.
Ten Lessons Learned/Reinforced (Mostly Reinforced) By This Game:
- It’s hard to hold onto a result late in games when you’re defending. Even harder when your subs drag you deeper and deeper. Regardless, we’re gonna need to get away with it in November and it won't be a choice.
- Winston Reid makes everyone better.
- Our midfield is pretty undersized but apparently now Tzimopoulos is an option there (he started at CM vs the Solomons last game) so… yay? He plays there for his club side yet Tuiloma and Musa are no mugs sitting on the bench either.
- Kinda sad to say it but it’s getting harder and harder to see where Shane Smeltz fits into this team much longer. 36 year old impact sub? Not really. He’s the wrong type of player to start next to Woody so he’s really only holding on until Myer Bevan gets a little better.
- It helps to be playing regularly for your club when trying to step up into international stuff. We’ve got heaps of pros these days, not a lot of them are club regulars though. That’s the next step.
- The wing-backs are a problem that needs much more elaboration.
- If we’re gonna send our best defenders forward for set pieces then those deliveries have gotta be so much better. We can’t be defending counter attacks without them. Even Ryan Thomas was shanking a couple and he’s got the best technique in the team.
- Anthony Hudson’s record against non-Oceania teams now reads: 1 W | 3 D | 10 L | 8 GF | 23 GA
- A fit Tommy Smith is starting at left centre-back and Deklan Wynne is the first choice LWB. Other than that this was probably Hudson’s idea of a best XI.
- Chris Wood probably needs three good chances a game but if you give him them then he’s almost guaranteed to score. His first game after the international window is a doozy: Burnley vs West Ham. The Woodsman vs Winnie.
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