Chris Wood celebrates a goal. Photo / Photosport
Chris Wood is used to great days.
He has had plenty across his career, with success for club and country and scoring feats that might never be matched by a Kiwi. But he has never known a time like this.
The 33-year-old is near the top of the English Premier League goalscoring charts, while his club, Nottingham Forest, sit third with less than a quarter of the season to play, after a staggering run.
His wife is expecting their first child – a girl – in around a month. And the All Whites are two matches away from the Fifa World Cup, ahead of the Oceania qualifying semifinal against Fiji on Friday (at 7pm) at Wellington Stadium.
“Yeah, I would probably say so - both on and off the pitch,” Wood tells the Herald, when asked if this was the best time of his life.
“Obviously, it’s been a great season for the club, a great season so far for me, with hopefully a lot more to come. And then, getting married as well [last June] having the baby on the way, it’s been a great year to date, both on and off the pitch.”
His recent elevation in the national awareness has been remarkable. Over the past 18 months Wood has gone from being a football ace to a national sporting hero, a conversation topic from the Bay of Islands to Bluff.
That’s because of his head-turning deeds, with 18 goals this season already and a total of 29 since December 2023, when Nuno Espirito Santo became the new manager at Forest.
His success is the product of years of dedication – as he has taken the long route to the Premier League – and a relentless drive to improve.
The new profile he has on these shores – Wood had an extensive round of media interviews on Tuesday, then more on Wednesday – is long overdue and well deserved, given his dedication to the All Whites’ cause since his 2009 debut.
Wood has made 80 appearances in that time, scoring a record 38 goals, with a commitment to the national team unmatched in modern history, especially given the pressures and scale of his club job. He always turns up.
“It’s everything for me,” he says simply. “I just love playing for New Zealand. I love being able to join up with the lads.
“It’s something different, a different environment, getting on with Kiwis. It was always a dream of mine to play for my country.”
That’s why the impending opportunity – with direct qualification from Oceania available for the first time – is so important to him.
Every New Zealand footballer dreams of playing in a World Cup but Wood is the only one who has been involved in every qualification series in the previous four cycles, with the playoffs against Bahrain (2009), Mexico (2013), Peru (2017), and Costa Rica (2022).
“I mean, it’s huge,” says Wood. “I’ve always wanted to get back to the World Cup. I thought we deserved it when we played Costa Rica, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“We have put ourselves in a great opportunity for it to be now with two big games potentially coming up and we’ve got to make sure we’re fine-tuned and ready for it. It’s not going to be easy, but we have a great opportunity to be able to do that.”
Wood feels that the Oceania confederation “deserves” direct entry, since Fifa expanded the World Cup to 48 teams.
It has changed the equation for all Pacific nations but particularly New Zealand, after 16 years of battles in intercontinental playoffs.
Back in 2009 he was just a kid, making his fifth international appearance, on as a substitute in the famous 1-0 win over Bahrain in the capital and will never forget hearing the final whistle.
“Just the jubilation of knowing that we’ve achieved something fantastic,” says Wood.
Despite his tender years he got game time in all three matches in South Africa in 2010, including nearly 30 minutes in the famous 1-1 draw with then World Champions Italy.
That period included a memorable episode, where he turned Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro inside out then hit a left foot shot which flashed across the far post.
“Look yeah, it would have been fantastic if it nestled in the corner and everybody would have been extremely happy with it especially me,” says Wood. “It wasn’t meant to be but it was just nice to be a part of it.”
The All Whites are overwhelming favourites to emerge from the final four, with New Caledonia and Tahiti to meet in Friday’s other semi-final on Friday.
New Zealand are at home, they have the history and they have a squad full of professionals. And they have Wood, who has plundered 27 goals against Island nations. But no one, especially Wood is presumptuous.
“We’re focusing on Fiji, and that’s all we can do because you can’t think too far ahead,” Wood told Jason Pine on Newstalk ZB.
“We’re going to have a very tough game here, and we need to make sure we’re on our own game to come out on top. They’re going to cause us problems, but we need to make sure we play our game to hopefully nullify everything else.”
Wood’s Premier League haul this season is incredible. He has scored against 13 different clubs, including Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United and has become a cult hero at the City ground, as they enjoy a return to the glory days, after many years of relative obscurity.
“It’s such a proud club, with such an amazing history,” says Wood. “It’s nice to be part of it and everybody in the city wants us to do well.”
Of everything they have achieved this season, Wood is most proud of their consistency.
“Everybody wrote us off, to fall by the wayside, that it will only be a good start to the season,” says Wood.
“We’ve proved that we will be able to stick it out all the way till the last international window so far and we’ve got nine big games to go to make it a full season and prove a lot of people wrong.”
On the other side of the globe Wood has enjoyed following the fortunes of Auckland FC, in their inaugural season, given All Whites teammate Tommy Smith is one of his closest friends.
“I try to watch his games when I can – or at least stay in contact with him,” says Wood.
Whether he would one day turn out for the Black Knights, or the Wellington Phoenix, in the A-League is a moot point.
He would like to spend a period of time here in the future and has discussed that with his wife. But he is also driven by huge football goals in Europe, wanting to stay in the Premier League as long as he can.
Then there could be another tier in England, while he has previously told the Herald that Major League Soccer would also appeal, as another adventure.
“You never know what the future will bring”, says Wood.
The most exciting thing on the horizon is the impending arrival of his daughter, due in late April.
“When that happens, life will change, I’m sure,” says Wood.
“Emma has done extremely well throughout the pregnancy, as all women do when it comes to that. She’s a trooper most definitely but we’re looking forward to the baby girl arriving.”
But over the next few days the full focus is on delivering a slice of history for his country, as the All Whites try to reach Fifa’s quadrennial showpiece for just the third time.
They are massive favourites, though there are complications. The full New Zealand squad will have only one training session together – on Thursday, the day before the match – which will be limited to set pieces and some basic drills.
Given what is at stake it is an unusual but unavoidable scenario.
Defender Michael Boxall arrived on Wednesday afternoon, with Callum McCowatt and Joe Bell touching down in the capital earlier that day, after marathon journeys from Europe, while another group came in Tuesday night.
In contrast Fiji have enjoyed a three-week training camp together. But there are no excuses from the All Whites, who are all aware of the job that needs to be done.
“We’ve heard stories of where everybody was when the Bahrain game happened,” said Wood. “One of the two most historic games in New Zealand football history. It shows how much it has an effect on the next generation, that’s why these two games, starting on Friday night are massive for us as a nation.”
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