The All Whites progressed through the OFC World Cup qualifying tournament. Photo / Photosport
The All Whites progressed through the OFC World Cup qualifying tournament. Photo / Photosport
In his new weekly column, Michael Burgess looks ahead to how the All Whites will prepare for their intercontinental playoff with Costa Rica.
All Whites to have extended build-up, ahead of Cup playoff
New Zealand Football will leave nothing to chance in their bid to qualify for the 2022 WorldCup, with lessons learned from the previous two intercontinental playoffs.
Although the circumstances were different, the 2013 series against Mexico was compromised by a lack of high-quality opposition in the build-up games, while four years ago the trip to Peru had several logistical issues, which ultimately affected the performance in Lima.
The Herald understands that NZF is planning an extended camp in Europe, with players to join as they become available from their clubs, leading up to the opening of the Fifa window on May 30.
There will be one match – against top-quality opposition – before the squad decamp to the Middle East, for a week-long build-up in Doha, with the possibility of another warm-up fixture there, before the clash with Costa Rica on June 15 or 16.
Pre-match warm up - New Zealand All Whites v Tahiti OFC semi final game at Grand Hamad Stadium, Qatar. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Chris Wood's leadership lessons
The recent Oceania World Cup qualifying final against the Solomon Islands marked Chris Wood's 15th match as All Whites captain, a notable figure given the presence of Ryan Nelsen, Ivan Vicelich, Tommy Smith and Winston Reid during his 65-game international career.
Wood, who first wore the armband against China in November 2014, has developed into one of the most important leaders in the current New Zealand squad.
"First and foremost, you need to lead by your actions on the pitch and off the pitch," he told the Herald. "And then you need to start forming relationships, getting to know people and bring good things out of them. [If] they are confident and happy in the environment off the pitch, they are going to play well on the pitch for us."
Liberato Cacace celebrates scoring during the New Zealand All Whites v Tahiti OFC semi final game at Grand Hamad Stadium. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Football fever lacking in Doha?
The impending World Cup hasn't seemingly done much to boost football interest in Qatar, if attendance at a recent friendly is anything to go by.
A match between 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia – featuring Real Madrid's Luka Modric, among other big names – and Slovenia - drew fewer than 3000 people to Education City Stadium during last month's international window, despite tickets being priced from $8.
Injury blow for Costa Rica
Key defender Ronaldo Matarrita is in doubt for June, after sustaining a nasty ankle injury in the Concacaf World Cup qualifying game against Canada late last month.
The 27-year-old Matarrita, who has won 49 caps since his international debut in 2015, had only missed three of Costa Rica's previous 17 matches before the incident.
Credit where credit's due. To many people, the idea of staging the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament in Qatar seemed crazy, especially with the logistics of getting the Island teams to the Middle East, at a time where there were limited or no flights from the Pacific to hubs in Australia and New Zealand.
But the Oceania Football Confederation were short of options – with no host countries available in the region due to Covid restrictions – and had to take a big chance.
Augmented by more than 100 staff from the Qatar FA, the tournament mostly ran smoothly and the visiting teams were blown away by the quality of the training facilities and match venues.
The forced withdrawal of Vanuatu and Cook Islands due to a Covid outbreak was a major disappointment but overall the event was a success, giving all Oceania teams something to build on for the next cycle, when a direct World Cup qualification spot will be up for grabs.
From the history files…
Costa Rica first qualified for the World Cup in 1990 and made an immediate impression.
Despite having an entirely domestic-based team, with some players having jobs outside football, they progressed out of their group ahead of Scotland and Sweden.
Los Ticos beat Scotland, who had Ally McCoist and Mo Johnston among other big names, 1-0, before edging the Scandinavians 2-1, to finish second in their pool behind Brazil, leaving the Scots to rue yet another missed opportunity at a World Cup.
Stat of the week
In the last 12 months the All Whites have played nine matches, boosted by five games at the recent OFC tournament. Across the same period, Costa Rica have taken the field on 22 occasions, with three matches apiece against Mexico and United States during that time.
