Credit: OFC Media via Christopher
Malili
Four months ago,
Darren Bazeley’s New Zealand All Whites swept to OFC
Men’s Nations Cup success at VFF Freshwater Stadium in
Port Vila. New Zealand has returned for their FIFA World Cup
2026™ Oceania Qualifiers opener against Tahiti tomorrow,
with a stronger squad, led by their Premier League striker
Chris Wood.
In June New Zealand dispatched
Sam Garcia’s Tahiti side 5-0 in the semi-finals of the OFC
Men’s Nations Cup.
But coach Darren Bazeley is
reading little into that result ahead of his side’s
opening Group B encounter.
“They have had a bit of
time to prep, we are a little bit different as a squad and
they have had a couple of changes. The challenge for us is
to produce a performance and get a result,” Bazeley
said.
With European-based players in the New Zealand
squad only arriving in Port Vila on Tuesday and Wednesday,
acclimatisation has been a challenge for the New
Zealanders.
“We’ve got good players, and they are
used to travelling and playing in different environments, so
we are not using it as an excuse, it’s difficult the
players in Europe turning up with the travel and time
differences but there’s no excuses they are
professionals,” Bazeley said.
Garcia, for his part, is
embracing the underdog tag saying his side has nothing to
lose.
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“The difference is we played out
qualifications for the semi-finals in Suva and then we
travelled a lot to reach Port Vila, and we hadn’t played
on the pitch before the semi-final in June. Last time we
arrived with several games players and some players were
injured and sick and we didn’t reach our full potential
then. So, we hope to be able to show up for the game to
come.” Garcia said.
Tahiti will come up
against Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood, who scored his
fourth goal of the English Premier League season last
weekend against Chelsea.
But Tahiti’s captain
Teaonui Tehau is unfazed.
“Chris Wood is a great
player in Oceania but in the end, he remains a human after
all with two feet, two hands and a head and we will play
against him like anyone we play football against and there
is respect but no pressure.” Tehau said.
Vanuatu
meets Samoa on Saturday with coach Juliano Schmeling
confident his side has prepared well and is stronger than
when they reached the OFC Men’s Nations Cup final in
June.
“We understand the pressure playing at home in
the first match, but we understand Samoa want to impress,
not just us but the competition. But we need to bring the
pressure that can help us during the game, especially the
enjoyment and it’s something we have been working on in
the squad,” Schmeling said.
Talismanic captain Brian
Kaltak believes the Vanuatu squad is stronger than when it
reached the OFC Nations Cup final in June.
Samoa has
left it late to arrive in Port Vila, on the ground less than
48 hours before kick-off, but coach Jess Ibrom is not
concerned.
“Preparation has gone very well with two
warm up games against Fiji behind closed doors and Lautoka
FC. We look forward to arriving into Port Villa
today.”
FIFA World Cup 26™ Oceania
Qualifiers
Match Day 1
Friday,
October 11 (local kick-off time)
New Zealand v
Tahiti, 1pm
Saturday October 12 (local kick
off time)
Vanuatu v Samoa,
2pm
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Source link : https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2410/S00146/new-zealand-red-hot-favourites-as-group-b-gets-underway-at-fifa-world-cup-26-oceania-qualifiers.htm
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Publish date : 2024-10-10 01:05:00
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