And so it begins. The Under-20 World Cup doesn't start until Saturday but already you can feel the football fever. The biggest crowd in years gathered at Bays City Stadium in Auckland on Sunday afternoon to see the final warm-up match for the New Zealand side before their first game against Ukraine this weekend.
Uruguay have brought their footballing pedigree to picturesque Stanmore Bay over the last week, with the local community enraptured by the skills on display and the South Americans impressed by the Hibiscus Coast hospitality. And members of the Honduras team have become "world-famous" in Warkworth, trailed around by local kids wherever they go in the small town. These are the intangible pay-offs of hosting such a tournament, which provide local fans with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
It's also a unique situation for coach Darren Bazeley and his team. Hopefully they can rise to the occasion, but they have some defensive issues that need urgent attention. New Zealand teams have always prided themselves on a rock- solid defence, regardless of what they might be able to do in possession.
That's not happening for the Junior All Whites at the moment; they are offering up a lot of chances and have conceded plenty of goals in their warm-up games, some of them soft.
They can't afford that in the tournament proper, or else it will be a long way back.
