OlyWhites & Football Ferns at the 2024 Paris Olympics: The Game Two Blues
The Wellington Phoenix announced a new player the other day, former Sydney FC champ Paolo Retre, and during his press conference about the move, coach Giancarlo Italiano said he reckoned that the OlyWhites had a chance against the USA. That turned out to be one of Chiefy’s rare mistakes... though it was something else that he said straight afterwards that hovered in the mind in the wake of a nasty result against the stars and stripes.
The Chief: “Like all tournaments, with limited preparation time, it’s hard to stylistically get teams the way you want them to play nice fluent football. Even from a defensive structure it’s hard to get your whole game model across.”
It was an unchanged eleven after a solid performance in the win against Guinea. It probably shouldn’t have been. The USA offered a completely different task, playing American-style soccer with a big emphasis on pre-drilled patterns (specifically getting the ball to their wingers in behind) and athleticism... and it wrecked us. The NZers were okay when they could move the ball into the middle third but the American press gave them fits, their physicality roughed them up, and their intensity left NZ looking off-the-pace as they conceded three times within thirty minutes.
It started with Matt Garbett dangling a leg and conceding a penalty in the sixth minute. Alex Paulsen did not save it. They conceded again in the twelfth min when the fellas failed to clear a free kick cross. The third was just as scrappy as the USA picked apart an NZ backline that was all bent out of shape. They were able to steady things from there, only losing 4-1 with Jesse Randall scoring a very nice goal late on for some small form of consolation. But the game was long gone by then.
We blew it in the first thirty minutes, probably spoiling any hopes of progressing to the knockouts at the same time, and it was exactly what Italiano had talked about. It’s hard to get teams working with tactical cohesion with such a short time to prepare. The OlyWhites have the benefit of a number of players who’ve worked with Darren Bazeley and his staff heaps already, both with the All Whites and also the U20s... but they only had a short window together, with one known warm-up game and several late arrivals. Against Guinea it didn’t matter. They were as disjointed as we were and the OlyWhites rose to the occasion. Against the USA it was the complete opposite. Bazeley’s Boys looked passive and confused and then very quickly panicked. The back four was all over the place – they’d been too narrow against Guinea but the USA really stretched and discombobulated them. You could see it in the body language. You could see it in the simple mistakes they were making.
Ironically, Darren Bazeley copped some (valid) criticism for his tendency to switch to a back three at the last U20 World Cup despite the team being so much more balanced and effective with four guys back there. This was the opposite. They needed a back three (a back five, in effect) in order to cover the width without leaving big holes in the middle. To give individuals the cover to step aggressively into challenges and match the American intensity. Instead, all Baze did at half-time was swap out his ineffective wingers (Herdman and Bayliss off, Randall and Van Hattum on). When he did finally go to the back three, there were only fifteen minutes left... and we immediately scored a goal. Matt Sheridan came on at right wingback, Lukas Kelly-Heald came on at left-back, with Tyler Bindon moving centrally and Sam Sutton going into midfield.
Then again, the fact that the kiwis were so much better in the last quarter of an hour than they had been in the first quarter of an hour might, to be fair, have had more to do with the USA easing off. Perhaps the tactical reshuffle made no difference at all (although that’s just more evidence why it came too late).
It’s also the case that, for whatever reason (probably the patterns and athleticism yarn), Aotearoa has a terrible record against the USA in age grade footy of recent years. That 2023 U20 World Cup run ended in the round of sixteen when NZ lost 4-0 to the United States. Seven of these chosen 22 Olympians were in that squad. Back in 2017, our U20s lost 6-0 at the same stage to the same nation. Joe Bell and Sarpreet Singh were part of that team. There was also a 4-0 loss against USA in the 2015 U20 World Cup that we hosted. No players in common between this and that... but guess who the manager was for that fixture? One and the same. So, yeah, at least we got a goal this time. Breaking new ground.
In the other game in the group, France only won 1-0 against Guinea – with the African side producing an almighty backs-to-the-wall defensive performance that puts our win against them into some shinier context. France weren’t amazing though. They’ve not looked fluent at all yet but they’re fast and skilled, especially out wide, and that’s probably going to require the back five. Ideally with someone like Oskar van Hattum at RWB so that there’s still a bit of attacking edge (unless Baze reckons Matty Sheridan can handle the occasion, which maybe he can). Bazeley isn’t great at making changes on the fly during games but he’s definitely prone to a reactionary change between games. The OlyWhites would potentially still progress with a win against France... and until we don’t win, we have to try think we could win.
Nice to see Jesse Randall and Lukas Kelly-Heald make their Olympic debuts. Considering that Ben Old and Riley Bidois have been ruled out, and that Henry Gray is only going to join the team in case of emergency, that leaves 19 players in the main squad and of them it’s only Kees Sims, Isaac Hughes, and Fin Conchie who haven’t yet seen the pitch. Hughes was unavailable for this game, reverting to alternate status with Randall back fit again.
On the same day that Ben Old was finally ruled out of the tournament by NZF, more than a week after Saint-Étienne’s local media made it clear that the decision had already been made, he turned up in the starting-bloody-line-up of a preseason game against Villareal. Admittedly, there’s a very different vibe to doing half a game of preseason compared to a highly competitive tournament fixture... it is what it is. ASSE should have just held him back like Olympiakos did with Marko Stamenic and there would have been shrugged understanding from all involved. Instead they’ve made it look devious and potentially denied one of the reserve players the chance to go to the Olympics. Luckily, nobody will care in a few days when the OlyWhites journey ends and the excitement of Old nearing a Ligue 1 debut returns to purity.
Can’t really pick a standout player when the team was so messy. Tyler Bindon’s not a right-back. Finn Surman had a stumble against the nation of his new club (hopefully Timbers fans were watching against Guinea when he was brilliant). Joe Bell had one of those ones where his lack of pace gets exposed in transition. The forwards were barely involved. Sarpreet Singh had to drop too deep to get his touches. Matt Garbett did set up the goal with some nice work though he also conceded the penalty that got things started in such a bad way. The best of the bunch was probably Alex Paulsen again, without whom the scoreline would have been much worse. None of the goals were his fault. Bournemouth can be happy with their guy.
Let’s see how it goes in the last game. The OlyWhites were never going to be favoured to make the knockouts given this group, so the win against Guinea is already a net positive. They were pretty rubbish against the United States but it’s hard to be too mad when it’s so obvious that one team is just better. Anyway, the joke’s on them because we gave them Anthony Hudson. Huddo who, by the way, left USA Soccer last year to sign for a Qatari club then was moved into a technical advisor role after only three games and released by mutual consent at the end of the season. You’ll be happy to know the PR machine is still working overtime though.
22 hours later it was the turn of the Ferns. The Football Ferns took on Colombia in what could be described as their most winnable fixture, though the phrase “least losable” might be more in keeping with the prevailing spirit. In between games, the Canadian drone saga had absolutely exploded to where Canada ended up being docked six points... though the result remained as it stood. All we get is the (massive) satisfaction of exposing a massive conspiracy. Canada then went and beat France 2-1, scoring the winner in the twelfth minute of stoppage time, meaning they’re back up to zero points with positive goal difference and ahead of us on the table. Dammit.
It’s been really weird tracking that whole thing. Bev Priestman has now been sent home with the other two staffers and it’s hugely unlikely she can retain her job from here. It’s also become obvious that John Herdman’s era was tainted in the exact same way... in fact he might have even been an instigated. Herdman denied it all, pleading ignorance, in his latest Toronto FC press conference but then there was a prompt bombshell in the Canadian media that completely implicated him. Plenty more water to go under that bridge. NZ Football might even see it as a piece of revenge on Herdman, considering how he stitched them up in their All Whites coaching search. It would also be nice if Canadian folks stopped treating their players like innocent victims of this whole scandal though. The resilience they showed in the win versus France was remarkable but, like, let’s be honest here. They may have been innocent but they sure weren’t the victims. If illegal information’s giving them a tactical advantage then please look a little further to find the ones who actually suffer.
The Football Ferns had a more wholesome opponent in Colombia. They also had a more dangerous opponent. Michael Mayne made one change to his starting line-up, with Jacqui Hand returning to the front two in place of Grace Jale. Otherwise all was the same as against Canada, where a courageous defensive effort wasn’t quite enough largely due to the team’s energy levels fading in the second half. The Ferns did actually beat Colombia 1-0 at the 2016 Olympics. Amber Hearn scored the goal. Abby Erceg was sent off, though the red card was later rescinded. The Ferns have dipped a little bit since then but more to the point many other nations have improved significantly thanks to increased investments, infrastructure, and opportunity. Colombia is one of those nations. They’ve discovered a golden generation of talent that took them to the quarter-finals of the World Cup last year and, who knows, maybe they’ll do the same at these Olympics. It’ll be an entertaining ride if they do.
Because they were really good against New Zealand. The Ferns were no less brave, no less organised than they had been against Canada. But they fell to a fairly comfortable 2-0 defeat. They kind of defeat where you walk away thinking: yeah, fair play, they deserved it.
The spectacle began out on the left wing where the scintillating Linda Caicedo was matched up with CJ Bott. Now, CJB is one of the best defensive fullbacks on the planet and that claim is proved by her tackling/interception/block rates in the English Super League... especially the tackling. You simply do not go dribbling past CJ Bott. Except that Linda Caicedo kept dribbling past CJ Bott. And when CJ Bott is struggling to mark her player then you get the idea. Even without the suspended Mayra Ramirez, this team was an absolute handful. At one point Caicedo actually shouldered Bott to the ground and that never happens, especially not from a 19yo who stands 5’4 and wouldn’t tip 60kg on the scale if she’d eaten nothing but Big Macs for a week.
The Football Ferns were up for the challenge, scrambling around with blocks and clearances. Anna Leat continues to look so comfortable with anything in the air. They were organised. They were communicative. They were on the front foot whenever they could be. But they conceded after 27 minutes when Marcela Restrepo smacked a sweet volley low into the bottom corner. Great goal. Strange that they ran off to celebrate by holding up a Mayra Ramirez jersey... speaking of misidentifying the victims. Ramirez put six springs into a Frenchwoman’s ankle lol, she earned the suspension.
It’s one thing for Colombia to have had pace and skill and strength up front – after all, it still took a wonderful goal from outside the area to beat the New Zealand defence. It’s another thing for them to also have power and precision at the back. That’s what really made this game annoying, as the Ferns weren’t able to counter-attack effectively with our young forwards. Manuela Vanegas was the main prickle-in-the-foot, somehow winning eleven tackles and five interceptions at left-back despite us hardly even getting the ball that far forward. Not content with a flawless defensive display, she also set up the second goal after 72 minutes, scored by Leicy Santos.
That goal had been overdue. Anna Leat made a few saves and Colombia also hit the crossbar late first half, then again soon after it via another Leat save. Mayne was pleasantly proactive with a pair of half-time subs, bringing on Jale for Milly Clegg to get some strength up top, also brining on Annalie Longo for Malia Steinmetz to get some more ball-playing in the midfield. Neither really worked but at least we gave it a crack. Ally Green would replace Jacqui Hand for the last quarter of the match. Mickey Foster and Gabi Rennie also got a run, which meant lots of different combinations along the way. It was Hand and Clegg up front to start, with Katie Kitching and Indi Riley out wide. Then Jale went up top with Riley, with Hand and Kitching wide. We saw Rennie and Green out wide when they came on. There was a small window when the Ferns won a few corners, having slowed the tempo down, when you almost began to wonder if they might find an equaliser. But then Santos scored the second goal and that was goodnight.
Beaten by a better team. Can’t complain. The Ferns gave what they had to give and still lost. This game was crying out for someone like Macey Fraser in the middle but alas she went off injured last game. The good news on that is, if you believe her club coach, it’s not a serious injury. Just a painful rolled ankle and she’s in contention to maybe even feature against France. If not then she should hopefully return for Utah Royals before the NWSL resumes.
Speaking of midfield areas... that’s two games in a row where Malia Steinmetz has been subbed before Kate Taylor. That would appear to be a swap in hierarchy. Of course, we don’t know if Steinmetz is dealing with any injuries, or if there were specific tactical instructions involved there. It’s also the case that Taylor’s move to Dijon FCO significantly closes the reputation gap between the pair (and gives us two high quality defensive midfielders playing in top tier European leagues). Just a notable observation, is all.
Also, shout outs are in order for Annalie Longo who has now played at four separate Olympic Games. Ali Riley was about to make it five for herself until she was ruled out injured. Dunno if it counts if you turn up but don’t compete. If it does then 17yo Annalie Longo was an alternate player for the 2008 Olympics as well. She’s technically an alternate for this one too but Fraser’s injury made her eligible.
The OlyWhites were pretty bad in their game two defeat. The Football Ferns were outclassed but they turned up with the right attitude and made it as hard as possible for their opponents. As such, still gotta single out Katie Bowen and Rebekah Stott for praise. They’re both excellent... and late in the game Stott even pushed into midfield to try and spark something (and did as much as anyone else had all afternoon). Anna Leat was very good with the gloves again. 2-0 was far from an embarrassing defeat.
Hopefully Colombia go deep because they’re a very exciting team to watch – and it’d sure beat seeing USA or Canada going the distance. Although, let’s be honest, Spain are going to win this thing just like they win every other trophy these days. They already hold the World Cup, U20 World Cup, and U17 World Cup... so might as well add the Olympics to the mix and then complete the set with the 2025 Euros next year.
Get amongst our Patreon, Substack, or Buy Me A Coffee pages if you rate the yarns on TNC and want to join the fine souls who contribute financially to make it possible to do what we do
Also helps to whack an ad, do all the likes and shares and comments things, and tell your mates about us
Keep cool but care