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Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine

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Speaker 1: from Newstalk ZEDB.

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Speaker 2: One of the most important members of the All Whites

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Speaker 2: is Michael Boxel. He's been based in the United States

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Speaker 2: for the last decade with Minnesota United in Major League

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Speaker 2: Soccer and he joins US. Now, what do you make

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Speaker 2: of it, Michael, Belgium, Egypt and Iran. How do you

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Speaker 2: feel about that as a as a group at the

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Speaker 2: World Cup next year?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, as they were pulling out all the teams out

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Speaker 3: of Pop four, there was Yeah, some tough groups need

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Speaker 3: to be filled, so yeah, it could have been a

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Speaker 3: lot worse. Obviously, it's going to be three very very

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Speaker 3: difficult games, but no exciting. Obviously, we qualified way back

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Speaker 3: in March, which feels like a lifetime ago, and just

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Speaker 3: kind of counted down to today and yeah, glad to

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Speaker 3: finally get games on the books. Now.

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Speaker 2: Indeed, we'll find out tomorrow where exactly you'll play each

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Speaker 2: of these teams, but the group is going to be

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Speaker 2: in Los Angeles, Seattle, and Vancouver. Have you played regular

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Speaker 2: in one or all of those cities?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, As Minnesota, we're in the Western Conference, so we

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Speaker 3: plan all of those cities. Yeah, at least once every year,

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Speaker 3: so yeah, pretty familiar.

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Speaker 2: And in terms of June and July weather wise, what

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Speaker 2: are we talking boxing? Is it going to be in

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Speaker 2: the in the high twenties early thirties as we understand it.

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Speaker 2: I know you work on fahrenheit now, but will it

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Speaker 2: be Will it be comfortable playing in June in those places?

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Speaker 3: I think it would be. Seattle's probably a similar climate

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Speaker 3: to Akiwi summer, so yeah, it would probably in the

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Speaker 3: mid twenties. I mean, still potential for rain in those areas,

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Speaker 3: but I think I'm pretty sure La as well as

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Speaker 3: Vancouver stadiums are covered and indoors, so yeah, rain, wind,

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Speaker 3: sun won't be too much of a factor there. So

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Speaker 3: I'm definitely lucky to avoid the humidity of the East

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Speaker 3: Coast and Texas and Florida for sure. Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I was going to say so. On the other side,

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Speaker 2: on the Eastern Seaboard, there will be some more uncomfortable

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Speaker 2: playing conditions for some of the teams drawn into groups

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Speaker 2: over there.

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Speaker 3: Yeah. Absolutely those. Whenever I get my O Molestro, I

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Speaker 3: just beg we don't have a Houston or or Florida

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Speaker 3: away in June July because those are moments to play.

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Speaker 2: So how do you evaluate where your whites are? As

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Speaker 2: you say, qualification was secured back in March, the team's

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Speaker 2: been together fairly regularly in the time since, with some

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Speaker 2: good quality matches. How do you evaluate where you are

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Speaker 2: six months, seven months out from the World Cup.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think each window we've had at least one

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Speaker 3: kind of really solid performance and then the other where

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Speaker 3: we've i don't know, made a few changes or not

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Speaker 3: been able to match the level that we didn't in

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Speaker 3: the previous match. So I think we're in a good spot.

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Speaker 3: I think the most important thing for us now is

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Speaker 3: we need to get everybody healthy and planned really and

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Speaker 3: fully fit. I think we haven't. I don't think base

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Speaker 3: has had a fully healthy squad select from since maybe June,

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Speaker 3: which is always a tricky window for the European guys

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Speaker 3: coming off in the middle of their off season. So yeah,

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Speaker 3: I'd just like to see us fully fit. Obviously, Woodsy

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Speaker 3: keep it healthy, Libby as well. Obviously huge pieces for

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Speaker 3: us if we really want to want to be firing

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Speaker 3: come June twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 2: With qualification secured. As you say back in March, no

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Speaker 2: doubt you're talking about the World Cup. Before today, you

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Speaker 2: didn't know who you were playing that sort of thing.

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Speaker 2: But how driven are you as a plying group to

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Speaker 2: make a bit a history of this World Cup, a

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Speaker 2: first ever one. Perhaps getting out of the group for

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Speaker 2: the first time at a senior means World Cup.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's kind of what we've been talking

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Speaker 3: about behind closed doors, and I'm pretty sure I've mentioned

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Speaker 3: it to a few times before, where it's a lot

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Speaker 3: of these guys were motivated and inspired by the twenty

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Speaker 3: ten group in South Africa, and so they want to

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Speaker 3: turn around and do the same thing to all the

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Speaker 3: young kiwi's playing in New Zealand now. So I think

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Speaker 3: that's yeah, winning getting picking up our first first win,

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Speaker 3: and then I don't think getting out of the group

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Speaker 3: is super unrealistic with kind of the performance that we're

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Speaker 3: performances that we've put together in the last two or

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Speaker 3: three windows.

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Speaker 2: Have you sensed an excitement in the United States about

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Speaker 2: the World Cup next year or are we too far

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Speaker 2: out for that to have happened just yet.

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Speaker 3: I think there's always a little bit of buzz, a

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Speaker 3: little bit of mention about it. But I think today's

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Speaker 3: the hottest my phone's been since since back in March.

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Speaker 3: Probably so, Yeah, I think all the casual fans are

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Speaker 3: starting to start to look at tickets and know where

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Speaker 3: teams are going to be. And yeah, I think the

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Speaker 3: buzz is only going to, yeah, continue to get higher

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Speaker 3: and higher as we get closer.

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Speaker 2: And confirmation this week that the audites will be back

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Speaker 2: home in March as you put your final preparation touches on.

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Speaker 2: We wait to see who those games are against. But

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Speaker 2: you know, how nice will it be for you and

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Speaker 2: the team to have a couple of games on home

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Speaker 2: soil or I don't know, a fair well, I wish

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Speaker 2: you well kind of a week here in New Zealand.

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Speaker 3: I mean, yeah, that's massive. I'm yeah, super stoked, that

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Speaker 3: pregnant when the New Zealand Football Board managed to get

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Speaker 3: that across the line. Yeah, I kind of thought that

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Speaker 3: that game it mounts smart against Australia, sitting on the

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Speaker 3: bench for ninety minutes, was going to be the last

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Speaker 3: time I play an in z So the fact that yeah,

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Speaker 3: we get another one, another hit out in front of

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Speaker 3: our fans who've yes been huge and supporting us, So

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Speaker 3: it's going to be really cool.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, looking forward to seeing your home. You were saying

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Speaker 2: about the hot temperatures before, but are you shoveling snow

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Speaker 2: at the moment? Why don't you get off this call

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Speaker 2: from me?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I've had to do it about three or four

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Speaker 3: times the last couple of days. It's got down to

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Speaker 3: a nice minus twenty degrees yesterday, so wow. Yeah, hopefully

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Speaker 3: hopefully I've been into it in a few days to

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Speaker 3: soak up some sun. Should yeah, it should be a lot,

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Speaker 3: a little bit nicer than Dinant where I'm at right now.

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Speaker 2: Probably your stuff boxy. Thanks for taking taking the call

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Speaker 2: this after and and exciting. We know who you're playing

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Speaker 2: next year now, look forward to catching up when you're

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Speaker 2: down here with your whites.

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Speaker 3: And much just funny, always the pleasure.

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Speaker 1: For more from Weekends Sport with Jason Fine, listen live

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Speaker 1: to news talks at B Weekends from midday, or follow

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Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio