Speaker 1: This is Football Fever. Hello and welcome into a fresh
Speaker 1: episode of Football Fever as we cover of all things
Speaker 1: New Zealand football, the national teams, the Wellington Phoenix and
Speaker 1: Auckland FC in the A League and Kiwi's playing overseas.
Speaker 1: I'm Jason pine Bonnie Jensen's here too, Hello.
Speaker 2: Bonniet Piney. We're through to the World Cup.
Speaker 1: We're going to the World Cup next year and we
Speaker 1: want to say we I mean we as a nation, obviously,
Speaker 1: we as the All Whites and hopefully a few of
Speaker 1: the sporting media as well, including the Football Fever team.
Speaker 1: Happy birthday for yesterday, by the way, you celebrated by
Speaker 1: watching the All Whites eventually beat New Caledonia. What did
Speaker 1: you make of it in general terms?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a firstly great, great way to celebrate
Speaker 2: my birthday. I was nervous. I think a lot of
Speaker 2: a lot of people there in the stands or watching
Speaker 2: and listening to you Piney and the commentary. We're nervous
Speaker 2: in that first kind of hour of the match. I
Speaker 2: was really really improve spaye New Caledonia. And I don't
Speaker 2: know if I'm bad in saying this, but I was
Speaker 2: kind of cheering for them a little bit. I thought
Speaker 2: it was I thought it was awesome the competitive match
Speaker 2: that they put on and probably made the game more exciting. Yes,
Speaker 2: we would have liked to see a few more goals,
Speaker 2: but they really competed with the All Whites and I'm
Speaker 2: glad that New Zealand were able to get it done.
Speaker 2: I think the most impressive thing for me was the
Speaker 2: depth on display from the All Whites.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they changed things up and needed to. Can we
Speaker 1: talk about New Caledonia because I too was really impressed
Speaker 1: with them, I really was, and I'd watched them play
Speaker 1: Tahiti on Friday in Wellington. I thought, you know, they're
Speaker 1: a good team. They were clearly better than Tahiti, but
Speaker 1: I still thought that might be their final. They might
Speaker 1: have played their big game. They knew they were still
Speaker 1: even if they were beaten last night. They had the
Speaker 1: playoff tournament, so they could have been forgiven for having
Speaker 1: played their final in Wellington. But for the first forty
Speaker 1: five minutes, yes they were under pressure from New Zealand,
Speaker 1: but they repelled everything thrown at them. Can bear that
Speaker 1: to Fiji, who led a goal in the sixth minute.
Speaker 1: You know, after half an hour, their three nail down
Speaker 1: games gone at halftime. I'm not sure if you saw it.
Speaker 1: Halftime in the game, New Zealand were walking off and
Speaker 1: there were pointed fingers and gesturing and arguments happening. A
Speaker 1: team under pressure. New Caledonia were in a huddle solidarity like, guys,
Speaker 1: we've done a great job here. I think we have
Speaker 1: to give a huge raptor to New Caledonia. They really contributed.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we do, and we actually spoke about just before halftime.
Speaker 2: You know, imagine this changing room, what that's going to
Speaker 2: be like in the New Caledonian changing room at halftime.
Speaker 2: I think it made the match what it was. And
Speaker 2: what I really liked about them as well is they
Speaker 2: could have just gone in part to the bus against
Speaker 2: New Zealand, and you know they did that to some extent,
Speaker 2: but for the most part they were trying to play
Speaker 2: and they actually had a couple of good opportunities. Yes,
Speaker 2: they were barely in the attacking, but they were moving
Speaker 2: the ball really nicely and that's what I think was impressive.
Speaker 2: So you know, on the men's and women's sides, we
Speaker 2: see these Oceania nations just park the bus against New Zealand.
Speaker 2: It's all they can do, but I don't think they
Speaker 2: did that at all last night. And I also want
Speaker 2: to give a shout out to the goalkeeper. I thought
Speaker 2: he was very impressive and I hope he, you know,
Speaker 2: is on an A league radar. I think I don't
Speaker 2: know if that's a fast stretch or not, but I
Speaker 2: thought he was really good. He was really confident in
Speaker 2: there and cause a lot of trouble for New Zealand.
Speaker 1: The tremendously named Rocky nie Kine. Yeah, I thought he
Speaker 1: was good to He made a number of impressive saves. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like I liked him. I liked New Caledonia. And we
Speaker 1: got to just before the hour mark and Chris Wood
Speaker 1: goes down, tries to get up, tries to play on, can't.
Speaker 1: So here we are nil. All our captain, our leading
Speaker 1: goal scorer, our most obvious source of goals has to
Speaker 1: come off. Were you starting to think, hey, this is
Speaker 1: going to be this is going to be something we
Speaker 1: absolutely didn't expect.
Speaker 2: Controversial opinion, But I wasn't as probably less nervous when
Speaker 2: Chris Wood did come off. I was more optimistic at
Speaker 2: this point. I don't think it was necessarily working with
Speaker 2: the way New Zealand were trying to play so direct.
Speaker 2: You know, I think we play a lot around Chris Wood.
Speaker 2: Naturally you would, He's a Premier League goal scorer. Why
Speaker 2: wouldn't you. However, we're becoming too predictable and that in
Speaker 2: that way, and we've actually got some unbelievable forwards in
Speaker 2: Sapret saying Callum Macawa, Eli just and I just feel
Speaker 2: like we're trying. We're kind of one sighted, one minded
Speaker 2: on Chris Wood. So when he did go down injured,
Speaker 2: I was I was gutted for him, and I was
Speaker 2: gutted for the team. I was kind of thinking more
Speaker 2: about his Premier League run, but I wasn't nervous in
Speaker 2: terms of the game last night, and I think as
Speaker 2: that showed when the players who did come on, Costa
Speaker 2: and Eli and Francis, they did a good job.
Speaker 1: I knew you would be pleased about Francis de Maurie
Speaker 1: coming on and coming on at halftime as well and
Speaker 1: pushing Libby Cacacci further forward. Look, I think you and
Speaker 1: I have got slightly different views on Francis. Look, I'm
Speaker 1: a big fan of his as well, but I was
Speaker 1: surprised that he was brought on at halftime. However, I
Speaker 1: have to say he was terrific. He was really good,
Speaker 1: wasn't he.
Speaker 2: It's just the weight of his pass is so spectacular.
Speaker 2: And I think we've discussed this on the podcast before,
Speaker 2: but Francis has been not back in the past by
Speaker 2: coaches for his crossing not being any good, and he's
Speaker 2: worked on that and improved. And I really liked that.
Speaker 2: Darren Bezi clearly listens to the Football Fever podcast and
Speaker 2: had both Francis and Libby on that same side. I
Speaker 2: think they've still got to gewl a bit better, and
Speaker 2: then that I would like to see them play more
Speaker 2: on that side together at international windows because quite a
Speaker 2: few times they were both making the same run and
Speaker 2: you could see there was a bit of a miscommunication.
Speaker 2: But I think, you know, Francis is a better crosser
Speaker 2: than Libby and Libby's better at cutting in, so why
Speaker 2: not have both at the same time. You could see,
Speaker 2: you know, this is a weey way away yet, but
Speaker 2: into our month's time, eighteen months time at the World Cup,
Speaker 2: you know, Francis is someone that you can bring off
Speaker 2: the bench and do a good job. He's done that
Speaker 2: in both games now, so a key acid, I think,
Speaker 2: whether it's starting or coming off the bench.
Speaker 1: And provided the cross for the opening goal, which was
Speaker 1: just on the hour mark. He took the corner, dropped
Speaker 1: it on the head of Michael Boxel, who had never
Speaker 1: scored a goal in fifty four previous games for New Zealand.
Speaker 1: Elder statesman of the side, got up at the far post,
Speaker 1: and I think inside the ground the cheer for that
Speaker 1: goal was as much relief as it was elation, because
Speaker 1: we'd waited an hour and we were all starting to think,
Speaker 1: I think, hey, is this not going to go to
Speaker 1: script at all? But once Michael Boxill scored that goal,
Speaker 1: and then five minutes later cost of Barbarusis, who was
Speaker 1: also excellent off the bench, added a second, it felt
Speaker 1: from there as though the game was under control. And
Speaker 1: then Eli just with the third goal again Francises so
Speaker 1: he you ask your subs to make an impact, Francis
Speaker 1: to rees absolutely ticking that box.
Speaker 2: Yeah he is. I was sitting just behind that goal
Speaker 2: in the in the second half way they scored and
Speaker 2: was on the side of Francis, So I did notice
Speaker 2: how intelligent that that cutback was. He could have gone
Speaker 2: direct into Eli just who was sitting around the penalty spot,
Speaker 2: but instead he just cut one back to Costa, who
Speaker 2: then got the touchoff. So yeah, very very smart player.
Speaker 2: And really happy for Francis because I know he's had
Speaker 2: a few setbacks, as we say. But also another shout
Speaker 2: out to New Caledonia. I thought even when they went
Speaker 2: down one too now, they still kept trying to play
Speaker 2: and I'm really excited for them. I don't know who
Speaker 2: they'll come up against in the in the playoffs. I
Speaker 2: think it won't be decided to November, but yeah, I
Speaker 2: don't know what their chances will be back, but good
Speaker 2: on them.
Speaker 1: I think they'll have everybody here cheering for them. I
Speaker 1: mean we'll be cheering for them right across Oceania and
Speaker 1: who knows. So you're right, we don't know who they're
Speaker 1: going to play, but it'll be well, it'll be a
Speaker 1: team that hasn't qualified automatically, just like they haven't, so
Speaker 1: it's not going to be a really really top team probably. Look,
Speaker 1: they'll be underdogs, of course they will, but they'll take
Speaker 1: huge confidence and inspiration from last night because I, at
Speaker 1: the risk of repeating ourselves, they were very good and
Speaker 1: and you know, really good participants in that football match
Speaker 1: last night. A couple of other shout outs. I want
Speaker 1: to give Tyler Binden, the youngest player in the New
Speaker 1: Zealand side, could have been the youngest on the pitch
Speaker 1: even last night. What a player he could be for
Speaker 1: New Zealand, just at his age to be playing with
Speaker 1: the composure and just the surety wins his headers, makes
Speaker 1: his tackles calm under pressure. Man, what a player he
Speaker 1: could be for us.
Speaker 2: Yeah, just you saying that party gives me goosebumps. He's
Speaker 2: so young yet so wise. He looks confident out there,
Speaker 2: but not arrogant. You know, he actually plays one of
Speaker 2: the highest levels across the squad. And another player that
Speaker 2: I was really impressed with his you know, his weighted
Speaker 2: passes over the top that are just so subtle but
Speaker 2: they're kind of perfect. And you and I Piney were
Speaker 2: talking just outside the office before about you know, it's
Speaker 2: who's going to play alongside Tyler?
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's where we are now. It's not will Tyler
Speaker 1: be in the team, it's who partners him at center
Speaker 1: back and there's stiff competition in there. I thought Michael
Speaker 1: Boxle again last night his goal but also as general
Speaker 1: play was exceptional, But then you look at Nando Pinekeert,
Speaker 1: naturally left sided and probably had had a pretty good
Speaker 1: case to say I should be starting. Then there's Finn Sermon,
Speaker 1: who's started the last two games for Portland Timbers, was
Speaker 1: purposely not picked for the squad so that he could,
Speaker 1: you know, stake his claims at club level in twelve
Speaker 1: months time. If he's got a season of MLAs under
Speaker 1: his belt, he's knocking on the door. Then there's Tommy Smith,
Speaker 1: the closer, the experience head, the man who went to
Speaker 1: the World Cup in twenty ten, is a fresh i
Speaker 1: faced nineteen year old, and others as well. So but
Speaker 1: I think you're right. I think we're now at the
Speaker 1: point where it's Tyler Binden plus who because, yeah, without
Speaker 1: wanting to pump a young guy's ties up too much,
Speaker 1: he could play three or four World Cups, he'll play
Speaker 1: in the Premier League, he'll captain New Zealand. I've got
Speaker 1: no doubt about it. He's a player.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm getting really excited by the likes of Tyler.
Speaker 2: But then also you know Alex Paulson, who we didn't
Speaker 2: see play in this window, but you know should probably
Speaker 2: could be starting for the All Whites at the next
Speaker 2: World Cup, and then you've got the likes of Finn Sermon,
Speaker 2: as you say, and the prospect of these young players
Speaker 2: is huge. Another one Ben Old who's obviously injured right now,
Speaker 2: but I can come back and easily kind of pick
Speaker 2: a spot. So that again what I mentioned earlier, It
Speaker 2: is really pleasing to see the depth in this all
Speaker 2: white squad which we haven't had in previous cycles.
Speaker 1: You want to get onto that in the moment what
Speaker 1: it means for the squad for next year, because we
Speaker 1: are at the point now where good players aren't going
Speaker 1: to make the squad. In the past, perhaps it's been like, okay,
Speaker 1: well we've got eighteen good players and we'll just add
Speaker 1: another five. There are fifty or sixty players on Darren
Speaker 1: Baizley's whiteboard in his office, and I spoke to him
Speaker 1: earlier on today and I said to him, I reckon,
Speaker 1: and this was my personal view. You could probably write
Speaker 1: down sixteen of the twenty three Let's say it's twenty three,
Speaker 1: it could be twenty six. We're not sure exactly whether
Speaker 1: it'll be twenty three man squad or expanded to twenty six.
Speaker 1: Either way, good players are going to miss out. But
Speaker 1: the most important thing for the players who are in
Speaker 1: that bracket, and in fact the ones who are in
Speaker 1: the top sixteen, if we want to call it that
Speaker 1: as well, they must be playing club minutes. They must
Speaker 1: be playing for their club. And there are a bunch
Speaker 1: of guys who aren't, who aren't getting good minutes. Ben
Speaker 1: Wayne's a good example, hasn't found regular minutes at Mansfield.
Speaker 1: Matt Garbett doesn't have a sight to play for at
Speaker 1: the moment. Others as well, and Bill Tuweloma is the
Speaker 1: cursory tail here. A couple of years ago he was
Speaker 1: in the first eleven, played every international. Now he can't
Speaker 1: even make the squad because he's not playing. You've got
Speaker 1: to be playing.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, you absolutely do. And we are lucky that
Speaker 2: so many, so many of our of our all whites
Speaker 2: play beyond the A League now, like no A League
Speaker 2: player other than Tim Payne. I think it was started
Speaker 2: in this window and we saw obviously costs to come
Speaker 2: on and then Logan got some minutes as well. But
Speaker 2: that's really exciting. But you do wonder for those players
Speaker 2: like Ben Wayne. Matt Garbett is another one. I think
Speaker 2: who's not getting minutes. Would it be that bad if
Speaker 2: they came back to someone somewhere like Auckland f C,
Speaker 2: like the Wellington Phoenix, just to ensure minutes over the
Speaker 2: next eighteen months. I'm not sure.
Speaker 1: I think Ben Wayne should look. I know they probably
Speaker 1: don't want to. You know, once you're in Europe, I
Speaker 1: think there's a reluctance to come back because it looks
Speaker 1: you know, and this is not true, but the perception
Speaker 1: is that you've failed overseas. Oh he's come. It didn't
Speaker 1: work out for him, he wasn't good enough. That's not
Speaker 1: the case. Look at a guy like Nando Pineke. He
Speaker 1: was kicking around in Europe at various clubs and never
Speaker 1: really found the place that was a natural level for him.
Speaker 1: I think slugger rovers you know, that's probably below the
Speaker 1: A League. Come back play a season in the A League.
Speaker 1: You're on TV every week, the national coach is right
Speaker 1: there watching you. I mean, the reason Francis Devrez is
Speaker 1: in the All White is because he's playing well for
Speaker 1: Auckland f C. That is the best example of this.
Speaker 2: Absolutely. Another one is Logan Rogerson who's been overseas and
Speaker 2: is coming back and scoring a whole heap of goals
Speaker 2: for Auckland f C. I think another mention is Calin
Speaker 2: Elliott and no, he's not quite you know, in that
Speaker 2: group yet, but he's on the front will be all
Speaker 2: White special and he's not starting for Auckland FC, but
Speaker 2: he's coming on and performing and getting good minutes. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I think if I'm Ben Wayne, or if I'm one
Speaker 2: of those those players not getting minutes overseas, I'm wanting
Speaker 2: to do everything I can to make that World Cup
Speaker 2: next year. It's a once at a lifetime opportunity.
Speaker 1: One hundred percent. You've got to be playing, and you know,
Speaker 1: at the risk again of repeating ourselves, if you're not
Speaker 1: playing at your club, then you have to find a
Speaker 1: way to play, because it doesn't matter who you are
Speaker 1: if you don't have match minutes. And I think actually
Speaker 1: Matt Garbett had a pretty underwhelming couple of games and
Speaker 1: he hasn't been playing, so that's probably not surprising. He's
Speaker 1: still going to give you energy and vigor every time
Speaker 1: he plays. But without having those regular games, you're just
Speaker 1: not used to having the boots on, you're just not
Speaker 1: used to being on the grass. So yeah, there's a
Speaker 1: few players who probably have to work themselves out over
Speaker 1: the next little while. Just before we hear from Chris Wood,
Speaker 1: just back to the first two goal scorers. There is
Speaker 1: a lot of chat about the younger players in the squad,
Speaker 1: and rightly so, they're good players. But Michael Boxel thirty
Speaker 1: six years old, Costa barbarusis thirty five years old. The
Speaker 1: old heads got the job done. You know. They're the
Speaker 1: ones who who in many ways rescued New Zealand from
Speaker 1: a tough spot. So there's a lot to be said
Speaker 1: for for experience and moments like this. Earlier today I
Speaker 1: had the chance to catch up with Chris Wood, who
Speaker 1: obviously left the field after an hour last night. Caught
Speaker 1: up with Chris to find out the nature of his
Speaker 1: injury and also how he felt about helping guide New
Speaker 1: Zealand to another World Cup. Well, Chris, would nice to
Speaker 1: see you the day after. Let's start with the reason
Speaker 1: you went off and how you are. What can what
Speaker 1: can you tell us? What what was the injury and
Speaker 1: how is it today?
Speaker 3: To be fair, I can't say too much because I
Speaker 3: don't know at the moment. I have to go get
Speaker 3: it checked out today and get some some scans on
Speaker 3: and things like that, but hopefully it's nothing too serious.
Speaker 3: Landed awkward awkwardly, I think, and I've just got to
Speaker 3: deal with what comes out now.
Speaker 1: So it's your hip. What part of the specific part
Speaker 1: of your body is it?
Speaker 3: Yeah, hep and rib. It's just one of those that
Speaker 3: just felt a lot of pain and couldn't push off
Speaker 3: with it through my leg and once it happens, I
Speaker 3: can't run and the best thing is to get off
Speaker 3: and let someone else do a job, because I'd be
Speaker 3: letting the team down.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what are the emotions at that time? Because I'm
Speaker 1: sure you want to stay on right, you want to
Speaker 1: guide your team to the to the World Cup. What
Speaker 1: are the emotions that go through your head? Is your
Speaker 1: battle with that but also with what's best for your
Speaker 1: body and for the team.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I think you have to think about
Speaker 3: the team first. I was doing nobody in any favors.
Speaker 3: I couldn't couldn't move, couldn't couldn't defend, and couldn't help
Speaker 3: any in for those one or two minutes that I
Speaker 3: tried to stay on and things like that. I was
Speaker 3: letting the side down just not being able to do
Speaker 3: what we needed to do, and especially in a big
Speaker 3: game where everybody had to be counted for. So, yeah,
Speaker 3: you have to do the right thing. And I think
Speaker 3: Base called it very early. He saw it, and I
Speaker 3: think it was the right thing to do.
Speaker 1: So describe how it was on the bench before the
Speaker 1: first goal. You're sitting there, you can't impact the game anymore,
Speaker 1: it's still nil nil. Do you then become a bit
Speaker 1: of a fan like like us and get a bit nervous?
Speaker 3: Not not really. I think the long of the games
Speaker 3: goes on, probably we've got a bit more nervous. But
Speaker 3: I still had a huge belief in our team. We've
Speaker 3: done well in the first half, just didn't go in
Speaker 3: for us. Second half, we were doing well and started
Speaker 3: well and we believed there was always going to be
Speaker 3: a goal. We just needed to make sure we weren't
Speaker 3: doing anything wrong at the other end, and the defense
Speaker 3: was fantastic in that sense. And yeah, and when Box
Speaker 3: he put that goal in, I mean when when kind
Speaker 3: of felt like, here we go, we're ready to kick
Speaker 3: on now. And he's been been a champion of all
Speaker 3: ways for a long period of time, so it's special
Speaker 3: that he was just scored his first goal on that
Speaker 3: big occasion.
Speaker 1: If there was a sweepstake and you could pick, you know,
Speaker 1: your your favorite top goal scorer, I think your eyes
Speaker 1: would have passed over Michael Boxer, wouldn't they.
Speaker 3: Yeah, potentially with us, with with this history record of it,
Speaker 3: but special goals, special moment, special man. So yeah, it's
Speaker 3: fantastic for him, and yeah, we're very happy for him.
Speaker 1: And there's a lot of talk about the young players
Speaker 1: and this team and rightly so. But then you look
Speaker 1: at Costa barbarusis another guy and as mid thirties, he
Speaker 1: comes on, you know, in unexpected circumstances, he provides a goal,
Speaker 1: So you know there's a there's a bit of this
Speaker 1: experience thing, isn't there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely, that's I think that's the good balance we
Speaker 3: have between this team and I'm cost it one fantastically
Speaker 3: while coming on, especially after the heartbreaker last time and
Speaker 3: him being involved and getting sim top and things like that,
Speaker 3: I'm sure he desperately wanted to achieve something great and
Speaker 3: be a part of history and do something in the
Speaker 3: right note. And he done in both games, scoring in
Speaker 3: both games in semi final and final to put us
Speaker 3: Aside through to the World Cup. It's fantastic, So he's
Speaker 3: going to be very proud of himself.
Speaker 1: Do things like this sinking immediately, Chris, or like, do
Speaker 1: you sit here You're going to a World Cup next year?
Speaker 1: Has that sunken?
Speaker 3: I think it sings in overtime. You get snippets of
Speaker 3: it all, and I think it's going to be just
Speaker 3: continuous now until the World Cup. Got a lot to
Speaker 3: look forward to. When more teams get get qualified. You
Speaker 3: see your names with them and you're thinking, oh, could
Speaker 3: we be drawn with them? Drawn with them? And then
Speaker 3: when December comes around we find out where we're going
Speaker 3: to be based and who we're going to be playing.
Speaker 3: That's the true excitement.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and regardless of who it is. I know you're
Speaker 1: on record as saying we're not just going to make
Speaker 1: up the numbers. We're not just the forty eighth team there.
Speaker 1: You want to win matches and get out of that group.
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah. I believe. I believe we can. I have
Speaker 3: the belief in this team and the team's got more
Speaker 3: than enough quality and experience to be able to do something.
Speaker 3: And yeah, we want to. We want to do as
Speaker 3: well as the two unten team, but even go one better.
Speaker 3: It's not going to be easy. It's the world stage
Speaker 3: and it's just one of those we have to believe
Speaker 3: in and make sure right. That's what we've been working
Speaker 3: the last two years.
Speaker 1: That is Chris Wood, who I spoke to earlier today
Speaker 1: just before he jets out back to Nottingham. Hopefully the
Speaker 1: injury isn't too bad. Yeah, so I hit a rib.
Speaker 1: I just think he fell heavily and hopefully that's all
Speaker 1: it is, is a bit of bruising and he'll recover, ice
Speaker 1: it up and get back out there on.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's no point trying to push through an injury,
Speaker 2: I think in a game like that when you know
Speaker 2: you have a dominating possession and yet I mean we
Speaker 2: mentioned how good New Caledonia were, but it was always
Speaker 2: going the way of New Zealand, wasn't it. So there's
Speaker 2: no point pushing through. And I hope you know, to
Speaker 2: see him out there for Forest back soon.
Speaker 1: Back soon. Indeed, we hope so as well so for
Speaker 1: New Zealand. They punched their ticket to the Football World
Speaker 1: Cup twenty twenty six. The drawer is scheduled to be made.
Speaker 1: I haven't seen an absolute confirmation of the dates, but
Speaker 1: normally for the June tournament, it is in December, so
Speaker 1: we will find out in December where New Zealand are
Speaker 1: in terms of being being placed in a group, where
Speaker 1: they'll be based in the United States, Canada or Mexico,
Speaker 1: who they'll be playing against, all that exciting stuff. They've
Speaker 1: got games in June in Canada against Courte Deuvoirs, the
Speaker 1: Ivory Coast and Ukraine, and also a friendly locked in
Speaker 1: for November sorry October against Norway. They'll add another one
Speaker 1: to that window. Darren basically said this morning that they're
Speaker 1: going to play in all five windows. That's ten games
Speaker 1: and they should, right, They've got to have games.
Speaker 2: They absolutely have to, and you know the football firms
Speaker 2: did it as well on the lead up to their
Speaker 2: World Cup. What I would like to see though, is,
Speaker 2: I know it's kind of you know, you pick the
Speaker 2: best team to play, but it's not that not that easy.
Speaker 2: But the All Whites have typically picked higher ranked teams
Speaker 2: to play against, and I think they need to pick
Speaker 2: someone more on par with them, just so they're not
Speaker 2: having to defend an entire game in these friendlies and
Speaker 2: they can actually work on their attacking play because that's
Speaker 2: going to be crucial in about eighteen months time.
Speaker 1: Yeap, good point, Absolutely all right. We'll look to see
Speaker 1: how the All Whites go. But for now we can
Speaker 1: celebrate the fact that in the footsteps of the nineteen
Speaker 1: eighty two and twenty ten teams, they are off to
Speaker 1: the Football World Cup next year twenty twenty six in
Speaker 1: the United States, Canada and Mexico. Let's go to the
Speaker 1: A League. I'd almost forgotten what's going on in the
Speaker 1: A League. It's been this seems so long since we
Speaker 1: talked about the A League. So let's remind ourselves that
Speaker 1: Auckland f C are top of the table by four
Speaker 1: points from Western United and then another four points back
Speaker 1: to the Western Sydney Wanderers. This coming weekend Auckland f
Speaker 1: C are away at Brisbane Raw, who were the first
Speaker 1: team that Auckland FC faced all the way back in
Speaker 1: would that have been October? In their first game two
Speaker 1: nil win at home. Brisbane are a little bit down
Speaker 1: on their luck, but starting to find a bit of
Speaker 1: form Auckland f C. With with these recent draws, the
Speaker 1: two all draw against the Central Coast Mariners, the one
Speaker 1: all draw against Newcastle that you were at the four
Speaker 1: all draw against Adelaide United. I'm not saying they're stumbling
Speaker 1: and we perhaps you know, need to remember that they're
Speaker 1: still on a nine game unbeaten run. But they'd want
Speaker 1: to go to Brisbane and whin wouldn't they?
Speaker 2: Yeah, they definitely do. And you know, look going back
Speaker 2: to when they played Perth Glory in Perth and they
Speaker 2: lost in Perth Glory were down at the bottom of
Speaker 2: the table, still are, but that was a massive wake
Speaker 2: up call for them and they learned from that and
Speaker 2: they bounce back, So I don't see that happening again. However,
Speaker 2: they're obviously better at home than they are away. At
Speaker 2: the same time, I feel like they came back after
Speaker 2: the last international window quite strong. Obviously there are quite
Speaker 2: a few new Zealanders Auckland f C players in the
Speaker 2: All Whites quad the last week, but they didn't get
Speaker 2: a whole lot of minutes, so there's no reason why,
Speaker 2: you know, they can't come back fresh and respond.
Speaker 1: I think some Auckland to see a training this afternoon.
Speaker 1: I think the likes of Tommy Smith, Nando Pineker, Jesse Randall,
Speaker 1: Alex Paulson who didn't get any minutes, and even Logan
Speaker 1: Rogerson who only got on for a few minutes last night.
Speaker 1: They might give Francis the afternoon. I've given the fact
Speaker 1: he played in both games and played forty five last night.
Speaker 1: I think the rest of them back in training this afternoon.
Speaker 1: Tommy Smith said that this morning, said I going to
Speaker 1: training this afternoon. We've got a game on Sunday, so
Speaker 1: and that's the nature of it. The Phoenix boys were
Speaker 1: on the eight am flight out of Auckland to get
Speaker 1: down to Wellington. I don't know whether they'll train this afternoon.
Speaker 1: They might maybe Tim Payne won't, but some of the
Speaker 1: others probably will because they've got a game this coming
Speaker 1: weekend as well. That's the nature, isn't it. The international
Speaker 1: window you come together and then I mean, what about
Speaker 1: the guys who have to go all the way back
Speaker 1: over to Europe, you know, let alone, you know, just
Speaker 1: going down to Wellington from Auckland. Dan hallsfit, Nando Pineker
Speaker 1: is now back in contention because he was suspended last time.
Speaker 1: Tommy Smith is fit. Do you think it goes Pinaker
Speaker 1: and Hall teaming up again.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it absolutely has to. We spoke about
Speaker 2: it last time. But Tommy Smith is such a closer
Speaker 2: and I've been conceding late goals Aukland nef C, which
Speaker 2: has been unlike them, So why not go back to
Speaker 2: the olden days and bring that back. Also, we'll have
Speaker 2: Louis Vastrata back, won't.
Speaker 1: We Yes, Yes, he is back as well, just the
Speaker 1: one game suspension for him. I honestly believe he comes
Speaker 1: straight back in this time. I know Steve Corriker the
Speaker 1: last time he was I think he was suspended for
Speaker 1: yellow cart accumulation. Didn't bring him straight back in, but
Speaker 1: that was off the back of a couple of wins.
Speaker 1: He's had a couple of drawers. I think Louis Vastrada
Speaker 1: needs to come back straight back into the starting side.
Speaker 1: Be very surprised if he doesn't.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: I think the midfield's been kind of letting them down
Speaker 2: a little bit in the last few weeks and potentially
Speaker 2: an overhaul of that. So bring Vistrata and maybe someone
Speaker 2: like Cam Howison who we haven't seen a lot of.
Speaker 2: Give maybe Jake Brimmer and Gaogos a bit of a break.
Speaker 2: So it will be interesting to see what happens. Max
Speaker 2: Mutter is another one who hasn't been fit the last
Speaker 2: couple of games, so it'd be interesting to see where
Speaker 2: he is. I think there's a media opportunity later this week,
Speaker 2: so we'll see who's in who's out.
Speaker 1: We will indeed, and as far as the Wellington fotas
Speaker 1: are concerned, they play Saturday, so Aukland f C are
Speaker 1: away on Sunday evening. We'll get the exact kickoff time
Speaker 1: for you so you're not missing at seven o'clock Sunday
Speaker 1: evening New Zealand time. Auckland f C away at Brisbane
Speaker 1: Raw on Saturday at five o'clock at Sky Stadium in Wellington.
Speaker 1: It's the Phoenix welcoming the Western Sydney Wanderers who are
Speaker 1: in a very good vein of form, up to third
Speaker 1: on the table and coming in off the back of
Speaker 1: back to back four goal wins four to two over
Speaker 1: Melbourne Victory for one over Perth Glory and in fact
Speaker 1: four nil over the Central Coast Mariners, so three straight
Speaker 1: victories during which they've scored four goals. The return to
Speaker 1: Wellington of Bojidar Krajev as well, who I see played
Speaker 1: for Bulgaria during this latest window. Phoenix up against it
Speaker 1: can't make the six now but they got they got
Speaker 1: the confidence from that one all draw against Sydney FC
Speaker 1: just before the window. LB Kelly healed, I see it
Speaker 1: out for the season now, so Josh Olaway Emmy will
Speaker 1: be keeper for the rest of this season. Look, I
Speaker 1: don't think the Phoenix are favorites. I think Western Sydney
Speaker 1: Wonder is a favorites. But at home off the back
Speaker 1: of that confidence Booster rig and Sidney FC quite curious
Speaker 1: to see how they go.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so it's all just about ending the
Speaker 2: season on a high, isn't it. In for Chief, he
Speaker 2: probably seeing seeing more minutes of these younger players, so
Speaker 2: real gutted for for alb And I think he's been great,
Speaker 2: a great addition to the Phoenix since getting those starting minutes.
Speaker 2: But yeah, it's going to be tough for the Phoenix.
Speaker 2: It's going to be a tough a tough run for
Speaker 2: them now to the end of the season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, let's hope we can see, you know, some
Speaker 1: of the attacking combinations that Chief he's after with Marco
Speaker 1: Rojaus she go you old as a shiga barbarusis you
Speaker 1: know a sprinkling of Luke Brooksmith and Nathan Walker in there.
Speaker 1: You know, they can really play a little bit unencumbered,
Speaker 1: can't they. They don't really have to, you know, worry
Speaker 1: about table position anymore. They're not They're not going to
Speaker 1: make the six. I think, you know, Adelaide are currently
Speaker 1: sixed on thirty three points. The Phoenix, having played the
Speaker 1: same number of games, are on twenty. You're not going
Speaker 1: to make up thirteen points in six games, especially the
Speaker 1: way the Phoenix have been tracking. So play with a
Speaker 1: little bit of freedom and throwing caution to the wind
Speaker 1: a little bit and have all we crack.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the pressure is off one hundred percent, And I
Speaker 2: think that's maybe they've felt so much pressure this season,
Speaker 2: which has been quite ashamed of them. Obviously, coming off
Speaker 2: the back of last season they had an excellent run,
Speaker 2: they potentially you know, favorites coming in to qualify top six.
Speaker 2: Then they obviously had their big brother or big little brother,
Speaker 2: Auckland nef C come in as well. So I feel
Speaker 2: like they have been in a bit of a pressure
Speaker 2: cooker the Phoenix and Chief's probably felt that the younger
Speaker 2: players who have had to come in and replace the
Speaker 2: likes of Fin Sermon, Ben Old, they've probably felt that
Speaker 2: as well. So hopefully they can just play with a
Speaker 2: bit of freedom, you know, nothing to lose type attitude.
Speaker 2: It's to be nice to see them be competitive, but
Speaker 2: maybe they'll be able to do that more now, as
Speaker 2: I say, with the pressure off.
Speaker 1: Okay, So five o'clock Saturday afternoon for that one Sunday
Speaker 1: it's the Wellington Phoenix Women. So we've got all three
Speaker 1: in action across the weekend as per usual, but at
Speaker 1: quite friendly times. Now. The Wellington Phoenix Women missed a
Speaker 1: big opportunity to take a step towards the socks the
Speaker 1: top six by losing two nil to the Central Coast
Speaker 1: Mariners at home last Saturday. What that does in terms
Speaker 1: of their table position, they are still eighth on the table.
Speaker 1: They're still only two points outside the top six, but
Speaker 1: Brisbane raw I have a game in hand over them.
Speaker 1: If they were to win that game in hand, then
Speaker 1: the Phoenix would be five five points outside the top six.
Speaker 1: With only three games to go, they're kind of running
Speaker 1: out of opportunities and this weekend they welcome Melbourne City.
Speaker 1: The table top is Marie Anna Spekmayer returns to Pottydoor Park.
Speaker 1: It'll take a massive effort from Paul Temple's team to
Speaker 1: get anything out of this game, you would imagine Melbourne
Speaker 1: City nineteen games, twelve wins, seven draws, haven't lost a
Speaker 1: game yet, Bonnie.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Wellington Phoenix have a really tough ask and
Speaker 2: it's going to be a matter of relying on other results,
Speaker 2: which you just can't do this late in the competition.
Speaker 2: I think missed opportunity is you said Pioneer. We spoke
Speaker 2: last week how it was going to be a must
Speaker 2: win for them against the Central Coast. They dominated or
Speaker 2: you know, had them the most share of possession, more
Speaker 2: shots on goal, and they kind of flopped. And you know,
Speaker 2: I think going for the Phoenix need to work out
Speaker 2: how they're they're just as good in the second half
Speaker 2: of the season. It's been two season in a row.
Speaker 2: This is how and it's not good enough.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you know, we've talked about it a lot,
Speaker 1: and I think we tried to be optimistic that they
Speaker 1: would that they wouldn't. But we're at the situation, in
Speaker 1: the situation now where they have fewer points now than
Speaker 1: they had the same stage last season, and they didn't
Speaker 1: qualify last season. They really have to win two of
Speaker 1: the next three games and probably get something out of
Speaker 1: the third one. So they've got Melbourne City table toppers
Speaker 1: first up. Then it's Canberra who are a point above
Speaker 1: them on the table and also pushing to make the
Speaker 1: top six, and Western United who are currently fourth and
Speaker 1: have had a pretty good season themselves. So it's going
Speaker 1: to take something pretty special from Paul Temple's team to
Speaker 1: push towards the top six. It just feels to me
Speaker 1: as though they're just going to fall ever so slightly
Speaker 1: short again.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, And I don't know what it is, you know,
Speaker 2: whether it is the travel for the Phoenix Women as
Speaker 2: I mentioned, you know, it is a part time team,
Speaker 2: a lot of that, most of these players are working
Speaker 2: other jobs and it's probably you know, they're probably in
Speaker 2: the hardest position traveling from Wellington over across the ditch.
Speaker 2: So I'm not sure what we can exactly put it
Speaker 2: down to. Maybe it's attitudes, but yeah, real tough ask
Speaker 2: and maybe with this Auckland team coming in next season,
Speaker 2: they'll kind of, you know, put their head down and
Speaker 2: I don't know, work a little bit harder, wanted a
Speaker 2: little bit more, because I think that's that's what it's
Speaker 2: come down to, all right.
Speaker 1: So that's the A League action to look forward to
Speaker 1: across the weekend. Wellington Phoenix Men five o'clock Saturday against
Speaker 1: Western Sydney, Wellington Phoenix Women four o'clock Sunday against Melbourne
Speaker 1: City and Auckland f Sees Men seven o'clock Sunday night
Speaker 1: against Brisbane Raw. So we'll convene next Monday, presumably Bonnie.
Speaker 1: To wrap all of that up. We might have some
Speaker 1: updates on the likes of Chris Wood and his injury
Speaker 1: and anything else to do with the Keiwi football landscape.
Speaker 1: Anything to add before we go. We covered everything off
Speaker 1: I think we have.
Speaker 2: It's another big week in New Zealand football.
Speaker 1: It is indep See you next week on This is Football,
Speaker 1: viam e