Michael Boxall of the All Whites in action against Australia. Photo / Photosport
All Whites defender Michael Boxall is tipping his team to reach new heights at Eden Park on Sunday, despite the gruelling schedule of the last few days.
Off the back of the tough 1-0 loss to Australia in Brisbane on Thursday night, the biggest challenge will be physical, as the team prepare to play a second match less than 72 hours later, with a transtasman hop in between.
Coach Danny Hay has been careful to juggle his resources, but it will be a demanding task nonetheless.
Most players have only been in the southern hemisphere since Monday or Tuesday, still affected by jetlag.
Boxall didn't get to sleep until after 1am on Friday morning, with refuelling, recovery and the adrenaline of the match, then awoke before 5am, with his body clock still running on United States time.
"It is not easy but we will be okay," Boxall told the Herald. "We've got a lot of fresh legs -not everyone played a full game. They're all young enough to bounce back, not as old as me."
The homecoming factor will be another immeasurable boost, as the All Whites play in New Zealand for the first time since November 2017.
"Everybody in the squad is fired up to play in Auckland in front of friends and family - some for the first time," said Boxall. "Even if there are few tired legs, no one's going to notice because we are rarely in front of our home crowd and we are going to go for it."
It's special for Boxall too. First capped in 2011, Boxall has accumulated 39 matches in the silver fern, but Sunday will be his fifth game here.
"It's kind of wild," said Boxall. "It's up to us on the field to make sure it is a special occasion."
The All Whites departed Brisbane early on Friday afternoon with heavy hearts, aware that a chance was missed to make a statement at Suncorp Stadium.
So many elements of their display were outstanding – with their willingness and ability to play in congested spaces and retain possession before driving forward – but they ultimately lacked a killer touch.
"That performance is what we expect from ourselves," said Boxall. "We wanted to impose ourselves and we know what we can do but at the moment, it's just in between the penalty boxes. We need to get a little bit more time together to work on getting consistently good chances."
On several occasions the All Whites passed up good chances to cross – with Chris Wood lurking off his marker at the far post – to try and create an even better opportunity, which often never came.
Boxall also assessed that they sometimes need to chance their arm on the counter and look for the rapid incursion against a fractured defence.
"We can be a bit more dangerous, with more guys running behind before they get set," said Boxall. "A few times we were a little bit too slow. But for the most part we all like what we see."
There was also plenty to like from Boxall's performance, in only his third start since November 2019.
The 34-year-old anchored the defence superbly, made plenty of crucial interceptions and used his pace and anticipation to shut down some potentially perilous moments.
"Danny's very clear with what he wants from us," said Boxall. "That's the job; mop up things and just keep the ball moving.
So I'm just ready for whenever the opportunity comes. Whenever you pull on that shirt, it's a big honour."
Boxall is happily settled in the United States, since joining Minnesota in July 2017.
"The last two or three years I've been playing just about every game, solidified my role there and enjoying my football," said Boxall. "It's a fun place to play and my kids are pretty much Minnesotans"
On Friday, the sight of most of the team distributed around the economy class cabin on Air NZ 146 was incongruous, as punters beside them tucked into mince and cheese pies.
But this is a pragmatic bunch, ready to find a new peak at Eden Park.
Boxall feels there are a few technical things to "tidy up" as they review the game, but only slight refinements.
"We should be good to go" said Boxall. "I'm happy to go into battle with these guys and I know we can knock them over."