Chris Wood reacts after a missed chance against the Socceroos in Canberra. Photo / Photosport
Chris Wood is out to make amends tonight night against Australia.
That might sound strange, given all he has contributed to the All Whites cause, across 16 years, 84 matches and a record 44 goals.
But Wood is the focal point of this team and takes that responsibility to heart, as shown by his reaction to the missed opportunities in Friday’s 1-0 defeat in Canberra.
Amongst an impressive first half, the best two New Zealand chances fell to Wood, with Australian goalkeeper Paul Izzo thwarting the Nottingham Forest striker on both occasions.
“The second one, the keeper has made a great save,” Wood said. “The first one was a good save too but for me, I need to be scoring that first one. [It] would have made that game a lot more comfortable for us. That’s the burden and the pressure I bring on myself as a leader, as a captain and as our main striker at the moment.”
Equally, Wood is not one to dwell on what might have been. He is used to the pressure of his role and has long ago mastered the art of staying in the moment, rather than replaying mistakes in his head.
“I smile and move on,” Wood said, when asked how he deals with missed chances. “As it showed in that game, I had two chances, the second one came soon afterwards. If I was dwelling on the first one then I would have had a worst chance of scoring the second one.”
Being able to move on – and put the disappointing result behind them – is also a mantra for the whole team. They dominated the match but Australia’s late goal was decisive. There were echoes of the 2022 game in Brisbane, as New Zealand performed superbly but had nothing to show for it.
“It’s not a great feeling, for sure,” Wood said. “Because you don’t want to keep saying ‘Oh, you played well’ without the result. Ultimately we need to bring both together. We have got a few [Fifa] windows to do that but as we all say, it [the World Cup] will come round very quickly, so we need to start doing it sooner rather than later.”
There is also a score to settle with the Socceroos. Australia have always had more depth, along with the benefit of the Asian qualifying pathway, with regular competitive fixtures. They’ve won the last eight transtasman matches dating back to 2002 but it feels like the gap is closing, despite the disparity in world rankings (24th versus 82nd) and now is the time to strike, with the Soccer Ashes on the line for the second time.
“It would mean a lot,” Wood said. “It’s been a long time; it’s been talked about and not scoring against them [in the last five matches] has been talked about. We want to put both of those things right. We should have [scored] on Friday night and now we have a second chance to do that and win something that is truly special to our heritage.”
Overall, Wood is satisfied with the progress of the team but admits they need to up the ante, nine months out from the World Cup, and string together consistent performances against top-50 teams. That will be helped with classy midfielder Ryan Thomas back in the fold, after his eye-catching display in Canberra.
“I remember what he brought to the team six years ago so I was intrigued and looking forward to watching him play [last] Friday, as well as being a part of it,” Wood said. “I thought he brought a high level of quality, consistency and determination.”
Wood confirmed he will start on Tuesday but it’s likely his minutes will be managed again, after he was withdrawn on Friday just after the hour mark. It’s a reality of the altitude he is operating in with Forest.
“I’ve got a very big campaign coming up, probably the biggest in my career.” said Wood. “I’m at a stage now, I’m 33 years old and my body is not like these young boys. It’s a balancing act; the best thing is that I am here and ready to play. We [will] go from there and see how the game plays out.”
On a personal level, Wood is satisfied with his start to the Premier League season – with two goals on the opening day – but the schedule is unrelenting, with a trip to Arsenal on Sunday (NZT).
Ahead of Tuesday, coach Darren Bazeley confirmed everyone was available and he is likely to make a couple of changes to the starting XI – “to freshen things up”. Like Wood, Bazeley hopes they can seize the opportunity, in front of an expected 20,000 crowd at Go Media Stadium.
“Our job is to come back here, [with a] bigger performance, better result,” Bazeley said. “We are excited for another opportunity.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of The Big League Podcast.