Even more than a regular friendly match, this one was all about preparation. For both teams in fact because while All Whites were obviously preparing for their World Cup qualifying playoff against Costa Rica nine days after this match, Peru were also amassing their forces ahead of an intercontinental game. In their case they now know they’ll face Australia the day before the NZ vs CRC match, also in Qatar. This after the Aussies beat UAE 2-1 in a very tense (also read: lacking in quality) Asian confederation finale.

So while this was still a standard game of international football, with caps on the line and a result to be decided, both teams had their eyes on a bigger prize. Gotta keep that context very much front and centre. On another day this would feel like a disappointing chance gone by for the All Whites but on this day they got exactly what they needed even from a pesky 1-0 defeat in front of a pretty incredible crown of mostly Peru fans in Barcelona, Spain.

The lone concession came from a preventable error. Oli Sail, who’d otherwise been pretty flawless, took a heavy touch in the area and was tackled by Gianluca Lapadula who then popped the ball into an empty net. Maybe Tim Payne’s pass had a little too much juice on it. Maybe there were better options on the table than going back to the keeper who’d only just played it out to him after nicely covering a long ball over the top. But ultimately Sail should have dealt with that thing in his sleep. To lose to a very good Peruvian team on the back of such a soft mistake, having defended so well the rest of the way, is quite the bummer.

Or... it would have been if this wasn’t a game of preparation. Which luckily it was. A crucial ninety minutes with which to spark things up ahead of the Costa Rica game.

It was certainly a much needed tune-up for several players. A lot of European seasons (as well as the A-League season) have been over for a couple weeks or more which has left many players short on minutes. Winston Reid doesn’t even have a club so he’s been out of proper action since the last All Whites tour two months back. Chris Wood dealt with a sneaky injury down the stretch of the Newcastle United term so he’s a tad rusty for two reasons there: injury and match fitness.

Then on top of that this was also a great stylistic match-up. Peru play a physical and technical form of footy that isn’t too far off what we’ll get against Costa Rica. Strong in the challenge, well organised, excellent first touches, some great interplay down the wings in particular. All things that track well against the Costa Rica scouting report only with one major difference: Peru are better. No shade on Los Ticos but Peru are better. They have better players. They’re a better team.

Thus this game which came about by sheer convenience on both fronts (there’s probably a Peruvian indie sports website right now writing about what a good preparation New Zealand is for a game against Australia) turned out to be a lot like a baseball hitter putting weights on their bat for a few practice swings so that when they step into the hitter’s circle it all works smoother. Or a boxer sparring with heavier gloves for the same reason. These were crucial reps against a better version of Costa Rica which puts the All Whites in a healthy position.

Also Peru are probably the toughest opponent that the All Whites have faced since... the last time they faced Peru? There was that game against Ireland in Danny Hay’s first match in charge but Peru probably tips that one. Canada in 2018 wasn’t the same as what Canada have become since. Across this whole World Cup cycle these have been the fixtures:

Canada (L 0-1), Kenya (L 1-2), Chinese Taipei (W 1-0), India (W 2-1), Ireland (L 1-3), Lithuania (L 0-1), Curaçao (W 2-1), Bahrain (W 1-0), The Gambia (W 2-0), Jordan (L 1-3), Papua New Guinea (W 1-0), Fiji (W 4-0), New Caledonia (W 7-1), Tahiti (W 1-0), Solomon Islands (W 5-0) & Peru (L 0-1)

The All Whites are trying to make a World Cup here. Of those recent opponents, Canada and potentially Peru are the only ones to qualify and most of the others didn’t even come close. So this game was also a raising of the bar for what we’ve gotta remember is a largely young and inexperienced squad. There are key players in this team who haven’t even gotten to 10 caps yet (Bell, Cacace, Stamenic, Sail, Pijnaker, Just, McCowatt, Greive, Kirwan, Garbett... all in that same bag). Those dudes have never played an international game of this calibre... although the Olympics and various club experiences do help close the gap somewhat.

There were some funky selection calls made by Danny Hay here, calls that should help us answer a few remaining questions about the first choice eleven. The back three was nothing new but the overall 3-5-2 shape was a bit different... usually he’s preferred three up front with wingers when deploying the back three but here it was a Wood-Greive duo with Matt Garbett roaming free as a ten behind them. Hay had previously only used a front two with a diamond midfield.

That shape suits Wood and Greive quite well, to be honest. Big strong striker and smaller speedy striker... that time-tested formula. It doesn’t suit some of the other forwards in the squad quite so much though and it’s notable that wingers Joey Champness and Logan Rogerson (along with Dane Ingham) were the players left out of the matchday squad. Plus Matt Garbett got ninety mins. He’s competing with guys like Eli Just and Callum McCowatt for what’s effectively the Sarpreet Singh role and offers less in attack than those two but probably a bit more industry. Garbs had a really good game against Peru. Some question marks remain over whether he’s developed the creativity yet to lock it down for Costa Rica but he put forward a convincing case.

Right-back has long been a problem position for the men’s national team. We’re pretty much down to a one-outs between Tim Payne and Niko Kirwan for that one as it stands... Kirwan played all ninety here whereas Payne played CB off the bench. There ya go. Payne is the better defender but he’s mostly played centrally for the Nix lately whereas Kirwan has been in good form for one of the best Italian third tier clubs.

Elsewhere Oli Sail was given the nod over Stefan Marinovic. Sail’s been in the form of his life for the Wellington Phoenix whereas Marinovic has played well in Israel but for a poor team that was relegated. Huge opportunity for Sail to prove that he should get the nod for Costa Rica. His error didn’t help his cause... but Oli Sail is a hard-headed individual and you get the impression that he rarely makes the same mistake twice. In that case you’d rather it happen now in a friendly than in the match that counts.

Finally we’ve got the back three where it seems there’s still the most to be decided. Winston Reid is a no-doubter and Bill Tuiloma has strung together a wicked case over the last six months – with his goal-scoring prowess a huge factor considering how decisive the set piece duel could be against Costa Rica. Tuiloma got the nod on the right which presumably left us with a toss up between Michael Boxall and Nando Pijnaker on the other side... except Tommy Smith was the one picked instead. Very intriguing. Danny Hay has mostly used mostly Smith as a closer off the bench or a backup option but he’s the only player to have featured in every single game for Headshot Hay so you know he’s trusted.

Were these indications of concrete decisions or were these final auditions? Probably a bit of both. Like, Stefan Marinovic has big game experience to lean back on whereas Sail doesn’t really so if that’s still up in the air then it makes sense to play Sail against Peru – and 30k Peruvian fans in the stand – to see how he fares. And central defence is clearly still up in the air because three of six subs were used in those spots. Smith, Reid, Tuiloma all starting. Payne, Pijanker, Boxall all coming off the bench. Everybody got a go.

As a consequence of that, attacking subs like Eli Just, Callum McCowatt, and Marco Rojas were all left unused – although Kosta Barbarouses did get a run which took him to the milestone of 50 caps. Just the 18th kiwi male to reach that marker.

Ordinarily it’s the attacking fellas you’d be swapping around when you’re trailing 1-0 but not here, not this day. Helpfully the unofficial Oman game is there on Friday to ensure that the entire squad get their tune-ups in due course. That’s a closed-doors game which won’t be televised so presumably it won’t count for caps. These things aren’t always clear though.

Okay but what about the actual game itself? Yeah that old thing. The quickest summary would be to say: defence good, attack bad.

The backline did their jobs nicely. Peru were comfortable with the ball at feet and moved it around nicely as they dominated possession... however there wasn’t a lot of incisive attack at the end of all that possession. A few instances when they worked some combinations to find space behind the wing-backs but even in those occasions the kiwi central defence had it covered once the ball was squared/crossed.

That defensive solidity was evident across the whole unit, including a bit of a press on display up top. Didn’t really lead to anything but it’s important to have that full-pitch pressure whenever possible to prevent stronger teams from being able to dictate things unchallenged. That Peru possession is one area where they don’t compare with Costa Rica, by the way. The Costa Ricans are very much a sit back and soak it up kinda team who perform best when they have less of the ball and can therefore be more direct with it.

All of which restricted Peru to only eight total shots and of those shots there was just one on target. Up against a good team that routinely gets to play the likes of Brazil and Argentina, the All Whites largely shut them down. There was that one incredible attempt from Yoshimar Yotun as a corner was chipped deep which he brought down before striking a half-volley off the crossbar. That could easily have been a goal... but if a wonder strike is what it takes to beat you then you can live with that as a defence, no doubt about it. Peru also hit the post from a Pijnaker deflection in the second half.

Yet there wasn’t much coming back the other way. The All Whites were largely anonymous in attack and struggled for the kind of precise, quality touches they needed to get past a Peru midfield/defence who weren’t gonna hesitate to launch themselves full tilt into any 50/50 challenge. They were genuinely superb when it came to that physical stuff and the All Whites weren’t able to escape it as they sprayed passes a little off target or took heavy touches that invited tackles. And also committed a heap of fouls although that’s nothing really to worry about.

It did get better in the second half. Clayton Lewis’ introduction could have been a factor though it was Joe Bell and Libby Cacace who seemed to spark the best things, especially Cacace. Only two total shots though. Plus they won just one measly corner kick all game and it came in second half stoppage time. Extremely limited chances. There’s gonna be some dangerously slim margins against Costa Rica if they can’t improve on that. Which, to be fair, is where the Peru > Costa Rica argument returns. That’s the hope anyway.

The tune-up game factor could also have played a part in that. A little ring rust that needed dusting off. Would like to see them use Chris Wood a lot more like how Newcastle use him, pumping a few aerial balls his way to utilise his hold-up play and hopefully establish some higher possession. Something to gain a foothold from. Greive’s the ideal sorta guy to have running off a target man like that. But you can forgive Woodsy for being a little off given it had been a month since his last start.

Also let’s not overlook that they did technically get the ball in the net. Ben Waine was offside so it didn’t count but it was a nice move so there’s confidence to be gained. Gorgeously placed low cross from Cacace too, phwoar.

Can’t tell ya how close this was to a full-strength Peru team but it was clearly quite different to the XI that started the last time these two nations met (then again, so was the All Whites team). But seven of these guys did start the decisive 2-0 win over Paraguay that booked them their playoff spot a wee while ago so it clearly it wasn’t too far off their best. Renato Tapia would definitely be there in a must-win match. Probably fullbacks Trauco and Advincula also. Not much else.

Peru vs New Zealand, Nov 2017 (Lima):

Gallese / Advincula, Ramos, Rodriguez, Trauco / Tapia, Cueva, Flores / Polo, Farfan, Ruidiaz

Peru vs New Zealand, Jun 2022 (Barcelona):

Gallese / Corzo, Zambrano, Callens, Lopez / Aquino / Carrilo, Pena, Yotun, Cueva / Lapadula

New Zealand vs Peru, Nov 2017 (Lima):

Marinovic / Colvey, Durante, Reid, Boxall, Wynne / McGlinchey, Tuiloma, Lewis / Barbarouses, Thomas

New Zealand vs Peru, Jun 2022 (Barcelona):

Sail / Kirwan, Tuiloma, Reid, Smith, Cacace / Bell, Stamenic, Garbett / Greive, Wood

Also this is a very non-scientific measurement but just from perusing through some translated Peruvian Football Twitter replies it seems like they weren’t too happy with their team’s lack of cutting edge in this game which is a good sign for sure.

There are areas in which the All Whites absolutely need to improve if they’re to beat Costa Rica. Gotta create better shooting opportunities. Gotta earn more attacking set pieces. Gotta be more clinical in the passing game. Can’t concede a soft-arse goal like that. The absence of Sarpreet Singh is shaping as a bigger problem than anticipated. But this is football. You’re never going to get the perfect preparation or a full-choice team with everybody fit and in form.

The All Whites are ready. As ready as they’re ever going to be. See ya Wednesday morning.

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