Speaker 1: Football Fever with Newstalk z MB's voice of football Jason
Speaker 1: Kaine and Money Jansen. Hi Piney here, welcome to a
Speaker 1: special bonus episode of Football Fever. Today I caught up
Speaker 1: with All White striker and skipper Chris Wood as his
Speaker 1: side prepares for the semi final qualifier for the twenty
Speaker 1: twenty six Feet of World Cup against Fiji in Wellington
Speaker 1: on Friday night. Chris Wood, Welcome back to New Zealand.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the scene of fifteen and a half
Speaker 1: years ago, a game against bah Rain when in the
Speaker 1: eighty third minute you were seeing time to help secure
Speaker 1: a one nil win. What do you remember most vividly
Speaker 1: about that night.
Speaker 2: I'm probably the final whistle, when the excitement and everything went,
Speaker 2: run the stadium, run the team and yeah, knowing that
Speaker 2: we completed something that was truly historical in New Zealand history.
Speaker 1: Could you ever have imagined that, you know that would
Speaker 1: be the springboard for you to go on to achieve
Speaker 1: what you have as a professional footballer.
Speaker 2: No, looking back, obviously, I'm very proud of what I've
Speaker 2: been able to achieve throughout my career. It was a
Speaker 2: great start in my career, been able to go to
Speaker 2: a World Cup so early on, and hopefully now the
Speaker 2: old age I can go again then if we're lucky enough.
Speaker 1: So you mentioned the World Cup in twenty ten games
Speaker 1: against Slovakia, Italy, Paraguay, you came on in all three.
Speaker 1: Do you ever think back to that shot against Italy
Speaker 1: that just defeated the post? Look?
Speaker 2: Yeah, it pops into the memories every so often. It
Speaker 2: would have been nice if it trickled on the other side,
Speaker 2: but it wasn't meant to be. I think the team
Speaker 2: done extremely well that year and obviously three jaws unbeatenside
Speaker 2: in the World Cup. It's a pretty proud moment.
Speaker 1: How determined are you to get back there sixteen years on?
Speaker 2: Very determined. It's been under no illusion. I spoke about
Speaker 2: this a long, a old period times in the other
Speaker 2: qualifying campaigns that I want to get back there. It
Speaker 2: feels like this team and myself have unfinished business on
Speaker 2: the world stage, and that's what we want to do.
Speaker 1: It's a very different qualification path now, of course, two
Speaker 1: games won against vegi here and then potentially a final
Speaker 1: on Monday night. How do you make sure that you
Speaker 1: just go one game at a time and leave nothing
Speaker 1: to chance.
Speaker 2: Well, that's all we've got to do. It's what we're
Speaker 2: focusing on more week. We're focusing on Fiji, and that's
Speaker 2: all we can do because you can't think too far ahead.
Speaker 2: We're going to have a very tough game here and
Speaker 2: we need to make sure we're on our a game
Speaker 2: to come out on top. They're going to cause us problems,
Speaker 2: but we need to make sure we play our game
Speaker 2: to hopefully nullify everything else.
Speaker 1: So the team I think are all together now. I
Speaker 1: think the last players arrived last night. How do you
Speaker 1: spend the next forty eight hours as you prepare for
Speaker 1: the game against Fiji?
Speaker 2: A lot about it is connecting off the pitch, getting
Speaker 2: back to what were used to and then adding a
Speaker 2: few implements and training this afternoon tomorrow that we can
Speaker 2: find tune ready for Friday night.
Speaker 1: You've always answered the All Whites call. You know, you
Speaker 1: could easily have pulled a mystery hamstring on occasion and
Speaker 1: not come. You've always come, whether it's a World Cup
Speaker 1: qualifier or a friendly in some far flung part of
Speaker 1: the world. What is behind your deep desire to always
Speaker 1: play for the All Whites?
Speaker 2: The weather, of course, the reason I'm back here.
Speaker 1: No.
Speaker 2: I love pulling on the shirt. I love being around
Speaker 2: these boys. It's home and even when we're not playing
Speaker 2: at home, when I go away with this team, it
Speaker 2: feels like home because you're around the same characters, the
Speaker 2: same culture that I grew up with, and it's just
Speaker 2: a pleasure to be around this group.
Speaker 1: Premier League season. Can we just talked briefly about that
Speaker 1: Nottingham Forest having a wonderful season. As are you at
Speaker 1: the start of the season. Did it feel like something
Speaker 1: like this was in the offering?
Speaker 2: I don't think anybody can say that we would have
Speaker 2: been where we are, but we did have high hopes
Speaker 2: of being top ten or aiming to top ten, and
Speaker 2: that's where our goals were at the start of the season,
Speaker 2: and hopefully we'll have been able to achieve that. And
Speaker 2: now it's looking on and beyond and seeing where we
Speaker 2: can get to.
Speaker 1: What have been the keys to Nottingham Forest's success this season.
Speaker 2: Camaraderie, consistency, a team sticking together. I think the work
Speaker 2: we do off the pitch is what brings it on
Speaker 2: the pitch, fighting for each other, and I think that's
Speaker 2: shown over course of the season. While we've stuck together
Speaker 2: so well and while we were at where we are.
Speaker 1: In eighteen goals for you, you best ever return on a
Speaker 1: Premier League season more to come, and you've talked often
Speaker 1: about how a lot of it is down to your teammates.
Speaker 1: Is this the team in which you have been given
Speaker 1: the best service do you think across your elite football career.
Speaker 2: I think it's up there, definitely. I think it's a
Speaker 2: team that creates a number of chances and things like that,
Speaker 2: which obviously aids in my strengths. I'm a player that
Speaker 2: strives on delivery and service, so I definitely can't do
Speaker 2: it without my teammates around me. So I've got a
Speaker 2: fantastic team both here and in Nottingham that's supply me
Speaker 2: with chances and it's about me trying to stick them away.
Speaker 1: Eighty seven Premier League goals all up now. Mark Faduka
Speaker 1: best Australasian is on ninety one. I'm not sure whether
Speaker 1: you are numbers driven or not, but you were you
Speaker 1: aware of that stat?
Speaker 2: Hey? Yes, I do know the number very well. It
Speaker 2: is one i'd like to take off if I can
Speaker 2: this season. That is a driving aspect, so yeah, if
Speaker 2: I can get to ninety two this season, I'll be
Speaker 2: very happy.
Speaker 1: Speaking of numbers, and just back to New Zealand, you
Speaker 1: are only eight short of Ivan Viscilitt, one of your
Speaker 1: teammates in twenty ten in terms of overall caps for
Speaker 1: New Zealand. Again, is that something in your sights? And
Speaker 1: maybe on towards the one hundred after that?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I stide a set firmly pass I's number, but
Speaker 2: hopefully I can get there sooner rather than later if
Speaker 2: there's no messaps or anything like that. So yeah, I'm
Speaker 2: looking to the future differently.
Speaker 1: And the only New Zealander to score more goals for
Speaker 1: this country than you is Amber Herne. She has fifty
Speaker 1: three from memory forty one. Again, is that something you'd
Speaker 1: like to like to perhaps surpass in the time you
Speaker 1: have left in the all night hell?
Speaker 2: Look, I want to try and get close at least
Speaker 2: I want to get to the fifty mark. So that's
Speaker 2: a goal of my horizon. If I can get to
Speaker 2: fifty three and be joined or or get surpassed, that
Speaker 2: will be down to fate in future, so we'll see
Speaker 2: where we go.
Speaker 1: Just to finish, been able to talk over the last
Speaker 1: couple of days and some of the media you've done
Speaker 1: about a return home. The weather isn't always like this
Speaker 1: in Wellington, but could I pitch for Wellington Phoenix there
Speaker 1: on a good day? This place is very nice.
Speaker 2: Look the Wellington boys have told me that it's not
Speaker 2: always like this, so yeah, I mean, I'm open to
Speaker 2: both clubs. That's why we've got two professional clubs in
Speaker 2: New Zealand's if the time comes and it arrives that
Speaker 2: I might be able to come back to New Zealand.
Speaker 2: It was definitely something I'll think hard about.
Speaker 1: And very finally, you're going to be a dad soon.
Speaker 1: How excited are you about that?
Speaker 2: Very excited? I mean myself and my wife are very
Speaker 2: much looking forward to it. She's in the latter stage now,
Speaker 2: so she's just holding strong, holding down the fall back
Speaker 2: home until I get back.
Speaker 1: Wonderful exciting times on the pitch. And offer Chris congratulations
Speaker 1: on everything you've achieved so far the season with Nottingham Forest.
Speaker 1: All the best for these two games to come.
Speaker 2: Appreciate it. Thank you.