The best training pitch on the main island of Efate turned out to be at the Montmarte School, far in the hills above Port Vila, surrounded by dense tropical bush which can only be reached after some serious off-roading.
The All Whites used Montmarte as their training base, where the support staff got a bit of a fright in their first session, retrieving wayward balls from the bushes and being confronted by huge spiders, allegedly the size of small dogs.
As a result, some of the balls were left behind in the bush for the local school kids to retrieve, and the shooting drills were moved to the other goal.
As coach Darren Bazeley had predicted, the OFC Nations Cup was an eye-opener for some of the New Zealand professionals, cramped into mini-buses, playing on unfamiliar surfaces, against unfamiliar teams and having to get changed in a wooden shed outside the main stadium for the semi-final, because the two main dressing rooms were used for the second semi-final.
“This is back to basics. Some of these guys haven’t seen a shed like this since they played in the under-14s,” joked one of the Kiwi support staff.
To their credit, the young All Whites squad and their coaches took their new surroundings in their stride without complaints and focused on getting the job done.
Many of the squad had experienced football in the islands during previous U-17 and U-20 campaigns and went out of their way to engage with the locals, shake hands and pose for selfies wherever they travelled.
Instead of being intimidated, the All Whites seemed to feed off the energy of the raucous crowd, who were only a couple of metres from the playing surface, embracing Vanuatu and its football passion.
New Zealand’s Tim Payne playing before a raucous crowd in Port Vila. Photo credit: OFC Media / Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.
The script for the tournament could not have been better, with the local heroes making their first-ever final against the overwhelming favourites from New Zealand.
Whatever the result on Sunday, the final will be the biggest day in the annals of Vanuatu football and possibly the most famous day in the history of the friendly island nation.
READ MORE: Vanuatu make history to reach Sunday’s OFC Men’s Nations Cup final >>>>
Fixtures
Games to be played on Sunday June 30, 2024
Play-off for third place
Tahiti v Fiji
VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 12pm (NZT)
Final
New Zealand v Vanuatu
VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 4pm (NZT)
This story was first published on June 30, 2024
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Source link : https://www.friendsoffootballnz.com/2024/06/29/oceanias-pinnacle-event-becomes-a-showcase-for-true-football-passion/
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Publish date : 2024-06-28 22:08:06
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