Conclusions from the All Whites’ Excursion to the Intercontinental Cup
It’s a shame, a damned shame, that the All Whites didn’t make the final. That Kenyan game came back to bite Schmiddy and the lads after all, a draw in that one would’ve been enough. Or they could’ve thrashed Chinese Taipei like the other two teams did and basked in the positive goal difference of it all. But they didn’t so they go home a few days earlier than hoped. Ultimately it doesn’t mean very much at all (and it’s probably best if India wins their own little tournament anyway) but given the way that the All Whites had improved in every game it would’ve been a lot of fun to see them get one more swing at it.
The advantage of getting to play a run of games, rather than one-off friendlies like against Canada, is that the mistakes you make in one game are immediately correctable in the next. You get to make quick amends and learn that way. Probably no surprise then that the All Whites got progressively better as the tournament went on. Still, it’s a good sign for Schmiddy as a coach – remember how Huddo got worse and worse in these situations? (2016 OFC Nations Cup, for example).
Sarpreet Singh was so good that this whole article could just be recollections of the stuff that he did. Four goals scored from NZ in Mumbai… Sarpreet scored the first and set up the next three. That’s some kind of influence. He was New Zealand’s most threatening player and just as he did with the Phoenix he brought the end product as well as just the hype. That laser of a shot was what proved most useful at the Nix late last season but here we got the full repertoire, with his vision of passing and ability to beat a player also on display. Really excited to see how he grows from this experience – it’s bound to do heaps for his chances at the Phoenix next season, not to mention his future national team opportunities.
And the oversized novelty cheque collection is coming along nicely too.
Gotta remember that there were something like 16-18 players unavailable for this tour. Very few of these players are going to hold their places in a full strength squad… although a ‘full-strength squad’ is a bit of a pipe dream in international footy. Which is exactly why it was so promising to see the second tier of players winning games on the international stage. This could be the bulk of dudes who we’ll need at the next Nations Cup – Winston Reid and Chris Wood don’t really need to go to New Caledonia or Tahiti or wherever they end up being.
There was one player who played every minute of all three games… Cam Howieson. Sarpreet Singh, Nikko Boxall and Jai Ingham were the others to start every game. Justin Gulley was a half-time sub in the first game and played every minute after that. Myer Bevan, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Adam Mitchell, Tim Payne, Henry Cameron and Noah Billingsley were the others to feature in all three games. Every player played at least seventeen minutes.
Based on the minutes allotted on this tour, the starting XI for the final would have been (taking liberty and naming Crocombe as starter because he started Schmiddy’s first two games in charge)…
Crocombe / Gulley, Boxall, Mitchell, Cacace / Howieson, Payne / J.Ingham, Singh, Cameron / Bevan
But realistically Doyle woulda started over Libby and probably (hopefully) ADJ over Cam, given his performance in the India game.
Each goalkeeper played one game. Max Crocombe was the favourite to play the final if we’d been there. Of the trio he’s probably the best right now, although Mike Woud has the most potential. That guy’s gonna be brilliant, mate. But the goal in the India game showed his inexperience, hence why Crocombe remains the likely backup for Stefan Marinovic in a regular selection (assuming Jake Gleeson’s unavailable). Meanwhile Nik Tzanev was the only one who kept a clean sheet so don’t sleep on that lad either.
Goalkeepers and centre-backs have always been the one thing that the kiwi football production line dominates in and along with those three goalies we had a few very useful CBs stake a claim for further games. Nikko Boxall was strong and quick and basically a clone of his brother. Adam Mitchell reads a game really well and made several heroic tackles/blocks/interceptions. Really hope he can keep on at Bolton because he might just get a crack at their first team next season if he does. Sam Brotherton’s club situation at Sunderland is tricky but he’s usually looked decent for the All Whites and that was the same again here (in more limited opportunities). Then there’s Tom Doyle who, at this stage, is a genuine alternate CB option. Winston Reid and Tommy Smith have hardly been regulars over the years. It’s important to see we’ve got depth behind them.
One player who might not wear the jersey again for a while is Dane Ingham. He looked troubled with his defensive work against Kenya and was subbed off at half-time, not to play any further part in the tournament. It’s always possible he was injured but Dane Ingham has played that way in most of his internationals. He’s so blatantly a converted winger. Dangerous Dane can do good things on attack but the All Whites are rarely on attack in their big games and he needs to pick up those defensive instincts. That’s normal for a young player, however it proves that he’s not ready for this level yet. Anthony Hudson fast-tracked him in and it’s time to give him a couple years to hone his craft before he’s back in there again. It’s not about giving up on him, it’s just unfair to put him in situations he isn’t ready for yet.
His brother on the other hand… mate! You could be forgiven for having extremely low expectations for Jai Ingham here and yet he was absolute quality when called into action. Given room to work on the right wing he linked up well with his striker and kept the defence on their toes. Lad’s back in the picture now, amigos.
Seems clear that Schmiddy’s preferred formation is a 4-2-3-1, which creates a situation when everyone’s available as to who plays centre-back out of Winston, Tommy and Boxall the Elder… though when are we ever going to be that lucky as to have all three available within the next couple years? Wouldn’t even rule it out that one or both of Reid and Smith retire from internationals in that time. Good formation for Chris Wood though, with three attacking mids there to support him.
Curious that Matt Ridenton and Clayton Lewis didn’t get much time to impress in Mumbai. A couple amateur midfielders got time ahead of Ridenton despite him being a contracted foreign pro in the A-League. Seems like he’s always had to work a little harder for his chances to impress, he certainly did at the Phoenix, so not sure what that says about him. But with Riddo leaving for Newcastle and Cam Howieson keeping him out of the All Whites, just hope that Mark Rudan was keeping a close eye on all this.
As for Clayton Lewis, the guess would be that this was a fitness thing. He’s been dropped from the national team before for his fitness levels and he hasn’t played a lot of football, barely any of it, for Scunthorpe. He looked rusty in the previous All Whites game and then only played 29 minutes here. It’s a shame because he’s got plenty of talent. Hopefully he kicks on in his second season as a pro and this all only another hurdle to clear. Moses Dyer was the only guy who played less than him but then Moses came on and scored the winner against India… good for him.
Which of these players go on to crack the squads for big tournaments down the line depends a lot on how their club careers advance. It’s always tough to predict how players will develop. Who saw Michael Boxall becoming as good as he has a few years back when he was playing right back for the Nix? Or even a clumsy but energetic teenaged Chris Wood evolving into a genuine Premier League starting striker for a top half team? Players like Mitchell, Woud, J. Ingham, Ridenton and Bevan are in good club situations to kick on and excel. But you never know, someone like Dyer or De Jong could easily scoop up a European contract and start leapfrogging others. De Jong only played 73 minutes, all in the India game, but his presence as a pivoting number ten made a big difference to how effectively the All Whites controlled that third game.
Woulda liked to see Tim Payne and TAHW get a go at centre-back after their exploits there during the NZ Premiership. But the greater need was in midfield, where each is very comfortable, so no worries. TAHW feels like he’ll develop into a CB in time. Payne is a midfielder who had to cover CB for Eastern Suburbs. All goods.
Kinda don’t see Henry Cameron featuring again any time soon. He didn’t offer much in India and there aren’t going to be a million more opportunities to take a squad from this tier of the depth pool for him to impress in when he hasn’t done so yet. Jai Ingham’s just knocked him back a peg. Andre De Jong too. Monty Patterson will have a point to prove. A top team would have Rojas, Barbarouses, Collier and possibly even Tyler Boyd.
This squad had three international goals from two scorers when it was named. We’re now talking seven goals from five scorers. Shout outs to Sarpreet Singh, Andre De Jong and Moses Dyer on their first senior international goals.
Also shout outs to Nikko Boxall, Justin Gulley, Noah Billingsley, Nik Tzanev, Liberato Cacace and Michael Woud who all made All Whites debuts along the way. Bloody Libby Cacace’s only seventeen years old and hasn’t even graduated high school, which is very annoying. Top player, though.
Everything could change completely by tomorrow but a top notch All Whites team as things stand may read as such…
- Marinovic / Gleeson / Crocombe
- Reid / Smith / M.Boxall / Tuiloma / Tzimopoulos
- Doyle / Wynne / Roux / Colvey
- Thomas / McGlinchey / Howieson
- Rojas / Boyd / Barbarouses / Collier / Singh
- Wood / Bevan / Brockie
… but you can be one hundred percent guaranteed that you’ll never see that squad, not ever. For a few reasons too but let’s stick to the curriculum for now.
How nice is it to feel positive about an All Whites tour? Two wins against non-OFC opposition and Fritz Schmid has already surpassed Anthony Hudson’s total. Don’t know when the AWs will next play but they’re on a winning streak at the moment!
If you dug a bit of all that then head on over to Patreon and join the crew to give it the big ups and slap yourself an ad while you’re here