Having written pretty substantially about the exploits of NZ Football over the last few years, it was never likely that their press conference was going to offer any dramatic conclusions. Full credit to President Deryck Shaw and CEO Andy Martin for fronting up and answering some Qs but it’s not like they came armed with bombshells to drop.
Let’s see if we can get this all in proper order then. Andreas Heraf’s first tour in charge of the Football Ferns was in March where they played twice against Scotland (in Spain) and lost twice, both by 2-0 scorelines…
In the hour of darkness, in the time of need, that is when true heroes emerge. And it doesn’t get much darker than losing nine games in a row which was where the Colorado Rapids were at a week ago.
Something strange is happening. It could be early onset sleep deprivation from the World Cup but there appear to be positive vibrations emanating from the Wellington Phoenix.
Apparently half the population of planet earth will watch at least part of the World Cup and you already know you’re one of them.
No dramas for Minnesota Utd. Mike Boxall did his thing and won the coin toss and Minny scored the first kick, thanks to Ramirez, while Cincy’s bloke smacked the crossbar. Immediate advantage to the Loons. Keeper Bobby Shuttleworth went on to save two kicks and it was a comfortable 3-1 win in the shootout…
Last but not least, it’s Groups G & H… where the likes of Belgium, Colombia and, yes, England will make their first moves towards possible world domination.
Seven thousand two hundred and thirty six people turned up at Westpac Stadium in Wellington to watch the Football Ferns take on Japan. The biggest crowd a home women’s international has ever attracted in Aotearoa.
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!
Time for Groups D, E & F - where the shoulders of Lionel Messi get a test alongside the emergent talent of Sergej Milinković-Savić, Germany’s striker dilemma and Nigeria’s excellent team jersey’s and undercover knockout chances.
Now that’s what we’re talking about. The All Whites saved their best performance for the toughest game and just absolutely thumped India, did them dirty in front of their own fans. Magical stuff.
Going team by team through the battlers of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, starting with Group A, B and C. Got some French flair as well as some Aussie averageness on the table in part one…
Well now that was a weird old game. Lucky you if you stayed up until the wee small hours to get a peek at that, the All Whites winning a rare game against a non-Oceania opposition.
Billy T was back in that starting XI for the first time since the middle of April and the fifth time overall, having come off the bench last week. Up against Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy, Tui was picked to start at fullback with regular RB Alvas Powell out injured.
New Zealanders tend to give a lot of silly names to their sports teams. The All Blacks are obviously the most well-known around the world but it wasn’t so long ago, only eight years, that the All Whites were gracing the FIFA World Cup in their unbeaten honour.
We’re supposed to be winning these kinds of games. We should have won this game. It doesn’t even matter if this is a weakened All Whites squad, that’s excuse is not gonna fly here.
The All Whites are taking what’s effectively a second-string squad to a tournament in which they’re the lowest ranked team… but how would you react to the suggestion that the All Whites should beat all three of these teams over in Mumbai?
Mark Rudan, aye? He’s not the romantic choice but hands were pretty tied on this one. There are no available local candidates and it was never ideal to ask Fritz Schmid or one of that lot to double up on jobs.
Now that the fog has lifted somewhat, it’s clear enough that we will at least have one more Wellington Phoenix season to get excited about. And you never know what might happen with one fluke season.
Clean sheet, three points, soon to be the temporary captain… this was a good week for Mikey Boxall. No wonder he didn’t have time to check twitter for the updates, having to rely on his barber for the news…