The All Whites coaching staff at the All Whites v Oman International Friendly Match at Education City Stadium, Doha, Qatar. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
The All Whites coaching staff at the All Whites v Oman International Friendly Match at Education City Stadium, Doha, Qatar. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
In his weekly Road to Doha column, Michael Burgess reveals all the latest All Whites news in the buildup to their World Cup playoff against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
Injury scare for All Whites star
There is a slight concern over All Whites captain Winston Reid, just five days outfrom the intercontinental playoff against Costa Rica. The key defender sat out Friday's 0-0 draw against Oman with a groin niggle, sustained towards the end of Thursday's training session.
However, coach Danny Hay is optimistic that Reid will make the cut and the 33-year-old was doing individual sprints before the game to test the movement.
"We need to see how he comes through that but we are confident that he should be right by the time we play Costa Rica," said Hay.
The coach added that Reid is "positive" and knows his body well after a spate of injuries over the last four years. But it will be a nervous wait, given his importance to the cause and means Reid will likely miss at least half of the four remaining training sessions.
"We will wrap him in a little bit of cotton wool over the next couple of days and start ramping things up towards matchday," said Hay.
Reid felt some tightness in his groin during some set piece work in Thursday's training session, though Hay indicated it was not a pulled muscle. Reid has been unlucky before in this situation, famously missing the 2013 Mexico series after being injured at West Ham training.
Chris Wood celebrates with Winston Reid as he becomes the top International Scorer during New Zealand All Whites v Fiji. Photo / Photosport.co.nz
Crowd building for Costa Rica showdown
Around 9,500 tickets have already been sold for the Intercontinental playoff match on Wednesday (NZT). It's extremely modest by the usual standards of the Intercontinental playoff but underlies the problem of hosting the game in a neutral venue such as Qatar, where most locals are apathetic about going to matches, unless they feature the very biggest names, while the migrant workers have neither the time nor the money.
More than 2,500 Costa Ricans are expected to make the trip, with somewhere between 500-1,000 New Zealanders, which should provide a brilliant atmosphere, given the impressive acoustics in the design of the Ahmed Bin Ali stadium.
Doha temperatures hit new record
The mercury reached 50 degrees on Thursday afternoon in Doha, apparently a record for the month of June. It was punishing; anytime you left the air conditioning, the contrast was staggering. One All White told the Herald he tried to go for a coffee, just around the corner, but even over such a short distance he really felt the wall of heat.
Security presence ramps up
The security detail around the All Whites will be more prominent over the next five days, in the countdown to the Costa Rica clash. Though Qatar is one of the safest countries in the world, organisers are taking no chances, with constant police escorts for the All White team from now on.
Though it may not be in the scale of the operation in Barcelona, where the New Zealand team had six riot police (and well as other officials) shadow their every moment on match day against Peru.
All White coach Hay has raised his concerns around Costa Rica's use of the "dark arts", given what is at stake next Wednesday. There is expected to be plenty of gamesmanship from the Central American team, seen as part of the football culture of the region.
"I've read comments from the likes of [striker]Joel Campbell that it is part of their game that they utilise, that they grow up learning and we have to be fully aware of that," said Hay. "We don't want to get drawn into a game that is going to suit them and not us."
Hay added that strong refereeing will be paramount.
"That is going to be critical, that we get officials that are not falling for any of the dark arts, a lot of the diving, the feigning, trying to win needless or cheap free kicks. At the same time we can't give the referee any opportunity to blow his whistle in dangerous areas," added Hay.
"We will have to defend well and defend properly, not diving in, staying on our feet, being aggressive without making too much contact, where they can go down under that contact."
