OlyWhites at Tokyo 2020: Quarter-Final Bound
That chaotic defeat against Honduras seemed to rattle a fair few people but it didn’t shake the blokes who mattered. Or if it did, it did so in a good way. Because even though they weren’t able to bag a goal or two (and a win) to show for it, the 0-0 draw with Romania was by far the best overall performance from the OlyWhites in that group stage. They played a more assertive formation and were largely able to control the game. A few shaky moments in defence in the second half, sure, but Romania are a bloody good team. You have to be to qualify out of Europe. This isn’t the strongest squad that Romania could’ve mustered by any means but roll through the list and you’ll still find that on average those guys are playing at a higher level than our non-overage lads. Can’t let our expectations for this OlyWhites team overshadow the context of what they’re doing.
A draw was a great result. A draw was exactly what we needed. Romania had lost 4-0 to South Korea so their goal difference was shot. Split the points and we’d finish ahead of them and if South Korea could serve up another course against Honduras then we’d be through. No dramas on the latter front. Honduras picked up a red card in the first half and were picked apart with glee by the South Koreans. 6-0 was the final score. You know what that means... Aotearoa are into the quarter finals!
On the one hand, you might look at KOR-HON result and wonder how the hell we lost to Honduras. On the other hand, the more spiritually enlightened hand, you’ve gotta step back and reassess just what a brilliant win that was against South Korea in game one considering what they’ve done since. 10 goals scored and 0 conceded. Yet we shut them down, buddy. It was the decisive result in us making the knockouts.
Having said that, the Korea win is unrepeatable. It relied too much on the supreme talents of Winston Reid who is almost certain to miss the rest of the tournament, not to mention an opportunistic moment from Chris Wood which was a split second from being offside. South Korea didn’t play very well that day and after conceding they pretty much did exactly what we wanted by lumping long balls into the area for Reid to repel. It was also a nervous performance from the kiwi side for the most part. Doubt we get away with anything like that alignment of factors against Japan in the next round.
Nope, no chance of that. But that’s all goods because the blueprint is already set: the best way to get past the hosts is to play like we did against Romania. Danny Hay finally reverted to a 4-3-3 shape with Callan Elliot coming in for Dane Ingham at RB (though he was subbed off at HT on a yellow card). Matt Garbett, who was initially named as an alternate, got a surprise start in midfield alongside Marko Stamenic with Joe Bell behind them. Eli Just and Joey Champness either side of Chris Wood. Gianni Stensness partnering Nando Pijnaker at the back. And Libby Cacace and Michael Woud making up the numbers.
Much more like it from the Haymaker. The extra midfielder made all the difference as we were able to dominate possession for the first time these Olympics. Stamenic offers more punch than other options there. He’s strong on the ball, good in the air, an accomplished passer, and someone who can dribble through the lines as well. He had an excellent game while Garbett plugged away with good energy on the other side. It was also fun to see a dribbler out wide in Champness, although he was also subbed off at HT and his poor crossing was probably the main reason for that – bro, just hit Chris Wood. That’s you’re only job in that position. Put the ball in The Woodsman’s range somehow.
Wood was defended as well as humanly possible by the Romanian defence hence why the OlyWhites weren’t able to turn a positive, front-foot performance into a victory. The Woodsman’s best moments were from set pieces or broken play. It just wasn’t happening for him unless a lucky bounce fell his way. That happens sometimes... but don’t let it overshadow a game that’ll give the NZers so much confidence moving into that unprecedented men’s quarterfinal. Callum McCowatt will surely come back in for that one. Clayton Lewis too – with Stamenic suspended after a second yellow... those stupidly harsh accumulation rules in tournament footy at play. Right back is anyone’s guess. Will Garbett retain his spot? Time will tell.
Hopefully Danny Hay will be brave enough to send the lads out in a similar shape against Japan. Sitting back and inviting pressure onto an inexperienced defence, well we saw how that went against Honduras and Japan are gonna be a trickier prospect than they were. Three midfielders will keep us in the arm wrestle and offer that extra option in possession. It would also mean asking Stensness/Pijnaker to be close to perfect in their individual battles but hey lucky for us those two were outstanding against Romania. Like, Stensness was bodying people to the dirt. Pijnaker was finally hitting those long balls. Both of them have had impressive tournaments so far but this was the peak, it was beautiful to watch.
Special mention now for Michael Woud. Already told y’all that this was a dude with a strong mentality who wouldn’t let one awful game define him. Sure enough he was close to flawless against Romania. A couple times he went extra cautious as you might expect, such as that one time where he dashed out to a ball in behind and this time no hesitation just whalloped it deep into the stands. Fair enough. There were a couple of very good stops in there too, specifically that one which he blocked down low on the line. Quarter-final status was flashing before our eyes but Woudy bailed us out with a deceptively great save. Yes, it was straight at him. But it was low and hard and more times than not that probably sneaks under a goalie’s flailing leg. Gotta single out Woud for an excellent rebound game.
And gotta single out Joe Bell for maintaining the ridiculously high standards he keeps setting himself. Watch the game back, watch any of these games back, and keep a running tally of how often Bell wins possession in midfield. Whether it’s shielding a guy off the ball, rushing up in a tackle, stepping in to intercept. Whatever card you wanna play, Bellinho has a better one up his sleeve. And those inswinging corner kicks are a thing of beauty too. His efforts against Norway at the last U20 World Cup were effectively what got him signed by Viking FK. Just think which scouts might be watching this Olympic stuff... and they’re definitely watching, don’t doubt that for a second.
This was the main objective: getting out of the group. Looking at the instant reaction of the OlyWhites fellas as that final whistle went you could see how much it meant to them. It doesn’t matter if you cruise through with three straight wins in the bag or if you need a 0-0 draw to sneak in on goal difference, all that matters is that you get there and it’s a big green tick in the box for that one. Next comes a truly enjoyable experience as a New Zealand football team tackles a knockout game at a major tournament. It’s a spectacle that’s gotten a little more common at youth level in recent times and this is a direct progression of that trend. But never before at an Olympic Games. Never quite like this. What times these are that we’re living in. The gratitude is overflowing.
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