Soccer: Coach hails Young All Whites' win

The New Zealand under-17 side have their eyes on a quarterfinal place. Photo / Greg Bowker

New Zealand under-17 football coach Aaron McFarland has his eyes on the quarterfinals after his young charges crushed Uzbekistan 4-1 in their opening Group D match at the World Cup in Mexico this morning (NZT).

Central United midfielder Stephen Carmichael scored a hat-trick and Jordan Vale added a fourth to steer the Young All Whites to their first win on foreign soil in a FIFA tournament at the Estadio Torreon in Torreon.

The 17-year-old Carmichael netted twice before the break and then added a third eight minutes into the second half to complete a memorable match for the Sacred Heart College pupil before Vale capped the result with a left-footed volley from Rhys Jordan's free-kick three minutes from time.

"We want to get out of the group and even make the quarterfinals. We have to start believing that we are here to win games. I hope this result fuels the players' belief that they can go out and get another win.

"It's a game we targeted to win. We had a plan to achieve that and things went our way," said McFarland.

"Stephen Carmichael turned up on the day, but it was a very sound all round team performance."

To advance to the next stage the Young All Whites will need at least one point from games against the Czech Republic and the United States, and will go into the first of those matches, against the Czechs on Thursday morning (NZT), buoyed after their win.

"The confidence will help us. We will watch them play today and work out what they have to offer and craft a plan to tray and get another result," he said.

Their hopes of reaching the knockout phase got the perfect start today in the stifling 37 degrees Celsius heat when Carmichael capitalised on a defensive mix-up in the Uzbekistan defence to rifle home a right-footed shot from inside the box in the 10th minute.

He doubled the lead in the 36th minute after latching on to striker Tim Payne's pass and reacting fastest after his first shot was parried by the Uzbekistan goalkeeper to bundle the ball home from close range.

The Uzbekistan side, playing in their first World Cup, forced New Zealand goalkeeper Scott Basalaj into a number of good saves and they finally got some reward six minutes before the interval when striker Timur Khakimov's low left-footed drive beat Basalaj from an acute angle.

Bobir Davlatov thought he had equalised shortly after halftime but the effort was disallowed for a foul and Carmichael looked to have made the game safe for the Young All Whites when his side-footed finish sealed his hat-trick and put them 3-1 ahead in the 53rd minute.

Uzbekistan, who fired 24 shots at goal during the match, always looked threatening, but with three minutes left Vale's smart finish put the game beyond doubt.

There was still enough time for Uzbekistan to have a goal ruled out for offside, but the final whistle sparked euphoric scenes for the New Zealand players and management.

- NZPA