It has been a tough year for New Zealand football, but the under-17s have covered themselves in glory by making it to the last 16 of the FIFA under-17 tournament. Their next assignment is against a rather handy football country in Brazil.
Here are six things you may not knowabout our under-17 team.
1) New Zealand has taken the minimal approach to making the playoffs. They have had the least shots (15) and attempts on target (5). Next worst is the USA (20/7) while pacesetters Mali have piled on 70 shots, with 22 on target. Brazil are down the table with 36 shots and 10 on target. The strength of each group will affect these totals.
2) Sons of...there are two All Whites offspring in the squad - James McGarry and Connor Probert. Otago's Michael McGarry was a midfielder for the All Whites in 1980s and 90s and while not a household name outside of football circles, he is regarded as one of the finest to have pulled on the national shirt. Paul Probert, who emerged through Nelson United and Gisborne City, was a brief All White in the late 1980s.
3) Striker Logan Rogerson is the sole All White, having been called up to the senior side for a friendly against Myanmar in Yangon last month. Rogerson, out of Hamilton Boys High, and McGarry have just signed three year contracts with the Wellington Phoenix.
4) This is the seventh time the young All Whites have qualified for the world under-17 tournament. They also made the round of 16 in 2009 (Nigeria) and 2011 (Mexico). In 2009 they were thumped 5 - 0 by the hosts in their first playoff game, and lost to Japan 6 - 0 at the same stage two years later. They were also beaten 7 - 0 by Brazil during the group stage in 2007. New Zealand's first win came in 2011 with a 4 - 1 victory over Uzbekistan.
5) There was a controversial build-up this year when coach Jose Figueira and his assistant Paul Temple were dumped in favour of former All Whites Danny Hay and Chris Zoricich. All Whites boss Anthony Hudson was the instigator - he wanted coaches who would promote the style he is implementing and believed Kiwis were a better fit at that level. Hay, a defender who captained the national side, has run the football programme at Sacred Heart College since 2007.
6) New Zealand were crushed 6 - 1 by France in the opening game, but we missed most of French onslaught. TV coverage dropped out at 1 - 0 and the score was 5 - 0 when it resumed.
