All Whites striker Chris Wood. Photo / Getty Images
All Whites striker Chris Wood. Photo / Getty Images
All Whites striker Chris Wood is hoping for more. A lot more.
It’s unusual – almost unprecedented – to be reaching your peak at the age of 33 but that feels like the scenario for the Nottingham Forest forward. His recent English Premier League season was extraordinary, as he becamethe scoring lynchpin of a Forest team that went from relegation survivors to challenging the elite clubs.
He was voted October’s Premier League Player of the Month, and between late December and mid-February, notched seven goals and three assists in a heady eight-game sequence.
Wood reached the 20-goal mark for the first time and it’s easy to wonder what might have been, if not for the hip injury suffered in the Fifa World Cup qualifying final against New Caledonia in mid-March, which disrupted the last quarter of his season.
Only three players – Mohamed Salah (29), Alexander Isak (23) and Erling Haaland (22) – found the net more than the Waikato product, who also had the best conversion rate (shots/goals) in the league at 29%. Wood had already enjoyed a remarkable career in English football but the past season catapulted him into a different stratosphere, which has bolstered his confidence in the future.
“Hopefully there’s more to come and it’s another exciting year,” said Wood. “It’s been a great season. The club has done fantastically well and that’s helped me with what I’ve been able to do. I’ve had a tremendous team around me to provide opportunities to score goals and that’s what I’ve thrived on throughout my whole career – people supplying me with the right balls to have those chances. I’m very happy with what I’ve been able to achieve. Hopefully there’s a lot more to come in the next period of time because I’m definitely not done yet.”
Chris Wood celebrates a goal during Nottingham Forest's match against Brighton and Hove Albion on February 1. Photo / AFP
Reflecting on the campaign, he said the away win over Liverpool in mid-September – Forest’s first success at Anfield since 1969 – was an early catalyst.
“[That showed] to everybody that this team can compete against the best and it just spiralled from there,” said Wood, who added that the six consecutive wins over the Christmas/New Year period were also pivotal.
The campaign took its toll – his busiest for eight seasons, across club and country commitments – so his workload is being managed carefully during the current Canadian Shield series. Wood only played the final 10 minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 win over Ivory Coast, though is likely to start against Ukraine on Wednesday (9am NZT).
“It’s been a long season and I can’t back it up like I used to when I was young,” said Wood. “I’ve just got to take care of the body because I want to be around for a long time.”
Wood also pointed out the benefits of giving others opportunities because “you never know who is going to be available” when the Fifa World Cup rolls around next year. But Wood is in a great space and particularly enjoying fatherhood, since he and wife Emma welcomed daughter Camille to the world in April.
“It’s very different,” said Wood. “Life has completely changed, most definitely, but it’s fantastic. And Mum and baby are doing extremely well, so I couldn’t ask for more.”
After the notable result against Ivory Coast – one of New Zealand’s best in recent years – most of the squad took in Ryan Fox’s triumph at the Canadian Open the following day, with Wood describing witnessing the four-hole playoff as both agonising and exhilarating.
“It was a lot more nervous watching than it is playing football,” laughed Wood. “You can’t control anything and seeing a fellow Kiwi doing so well was exciting. He’s done fantastically well and having that opportunity to be there and watch that bit of history was fantastic.”
New Zealand players celebrate World Cup qualification. Photo / Photosport
Wednesday’s match against Ukraine (ranked 25th in the world) will be another tough test for 86th-ranked New Zealand. But Wood hopes the team can take belief from toppling the African champions and produce another consistent performance.
“That’s the standard we need to set,” said Wood. “We can’t fall below that.”
Assistant coach Tony Readings confirmed there would be “a few changes” to the starting XI, to rotate the squad and build depth. He hopes they can be better in possession, while also improving their work in the final third.
“We know the more we get the ball in the box for people like Chris then we’re going to give ourselves more chances to score,” said Readings.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.
