All Whites v Egypt | Sat 23rd March | 9:00am | FIFA+

Jonathan Gould giving the subs instructions is crazy

mrsmiis

martinb

Two superior footballers on and suddenly we look fluid on attack!

 eh we've been completely dominating all half, most attacks didn't run through Mata and while McCowatt was anonymous, he linked up well. great subs though, yeah

 
And tbf we haven’t seen the ball since, almost like Egypt went up a gear.

Ingham's best game in a white shirt potentially. Offered nothing going forward but reasonably solid defensively. 

Sancho

I don't mean to be a rude party pooper, although the All Whites are playing very well in this game with a few lapses in concentration.. I would expect anyone to play well against a team that's 12 days into Ramadan Fasting.

 Anything to discredit our team huh

Egypt starting to look way more dangerous towards the end of the game. At least the game isn't becoming boring. Reckon there will be another goal soon 

Damn what a shot by the Egyptians there lol so close

Almost a cracking Egyptian goal, now they're rolling the subs

Bindon and Kosta on. Noice

Garbett safely dismantling an extremely promising kiwi attack.

Just saw the replay and looks like our keeper tips their shot onto the post. He’s doing well.

so summary of the game thus far, Pijnaker  is average and costs us a goal a game he plays, Crocombe has done well and is clearly now the #1 shot stopper for us (to be fair he has looked decent). Our midfield has done ok, but we could be at 1-1 if Mata could put a shot on target.
Overall at 82 mins 1-0 down to Egypt isnt disastrous, but in a friendly tournament like this you'd hope that we'd be a little more adventurous with selections and tactics.

It would be typical of us there to be dominating play, only to go and concede a 35 yard screamer.

Crocombe with the slightest of touches on it too. Good save.

Is that 7 players on the pitch who have Nix heritage?

Just on for Lewis
Wouldnt it be typical of AW's duty that Rufer gets the full 90 in the next game and is exhauseted upon return.

Exceptions are made in Ramadan if you are sick, travelling and/or playing for your country should you wish.

Also why the game is on so late. So those fasting can eat and drink well before the game starts.

So yes a factor, but not as big as some may believe.

Has Old touched the ball yet? 20 mins and i have not heard his name once.

Hoping to see McCowatt, Mata, Garbett & Pijnaker dropped for the next game. 

We have the talent, Egypt were shark. We should have won. Our tactics are fudgeing dire and we persist with them every game even though we never score goals or win. It's fudgeed.

I mean the boys would have had Ramadan their whole professional life. The game is being played very late - it’s 11:55pm now I believe. Plenty of time to eat after sundown. In addition it is possible for some professional athletes to get exceptions because of their situation, though I don’t know if that’s happening here. 

I don’t think it’s a significant. NZ have long traveling distances, have few chances to play together in tournaments of a decent quality and are up against local time and crowds. 

These are just things to overcome. 

Nommag

We have the talent, Egypt were shark. We should have won. Our tactics are fudgeing dire and we persist with them every game even though we never score goals or win. It's fudgeed.

How can you say we should have won and that our tactics were shark at the same time?

Surely we dominated because of the tactics?

Played well. Pretty unlucky. 

On to the next one.

Peru, Costa Rica, and very nearly DR Congo. Concede an awful goal, dominate the possession, but have absolutely no attacking bite. I ought to be happy at the way we played but I can't escape the frustration. Same shark every game.

Generally think we did ok, but we miss a real threat up top.

Thought Garbett was poor today. Pijanker will get grief, but I think he did ok, despite the pen which was a little harsh. Ingham offered nothing going forward but did ok on D.

One thing that was missing from previous games from us were the large diagonal switches. We didn't play one tonight, normally thats our go to outlet.

Good performance, but it's the story of our existence in international football, we just can't create enough in the final ⅓. 

Sigh.

MetalLegNZ

Has Old touched the ball yet? 20 mins and i have not heard his name once.

I was excited to see what he could do but unfortunately he gave the ball away almost every time he got it with a poor touch. Must have been an intimidating occasion for him, big change of pace from Western United on a Sunday, so not too worried at all

We outplayed them for long stretches but yet again couldn't make it happen. I don't know exactly what the problem is. We can get the ball in there - not as often as I'd like but we had chances. Even when Wood is playing, he's usually ineffective against good opposition.

Really hoping Tunisia are up next.  They're not at all bad, but they're nothing on Croatia. I'd hope Bazeley shifts the squad around for this game.

Bazeley has to be the most unimpressive of coaches. I really hope we can line someone else up ahead of the World Cup and get rid of him.

Its all a building process - I'll let the Olympics and WCQ to be the real judge of the latent of this group.

I for one am happy to have watched that, in the last couple of decades very rare to have NZ be the better team away from home against a top 40 nation (I can really only think of Serbia in the 2010 leadup).

Sure we lost- but positive signs indeed.

Am grumpy - we should have got more out of that game.  We are a team of full time professionals, we have to be able to take chances and close out a match.  That should have been a draw at the very least.

They scored from a penalty. We hit the woodwork with a freekick. Not much in it.

Nommag

We have the talent, Egypt were shark. We should have won. Our tactics are fudgeing dire and we persist with them every game even though we never score goals or win. It's fudgeed.

Chill out. It's a friendly and we were competitive against a team better on paper and much higher on the rankings. Sure pluses and minuses from the game for us but quit with the doomsday rhetoric

It's frustrating because that Egypt side is a side we are clearly capable of beating if we played to our potential, but it never feels like we do. We never have our best side out for starters, and I don't know how much confidence we can have in the effectiveness of our coach. 

But Bazeley is doing enough to not get himself fired, so we are going to be stuck with this mediocrity for years. 

Our weak links out there really made themselves evident, only so much Singh and Cacace can do. 

Lewis had a poor start but really grew into the game - Garbett the exact opposite.
Crocombe really solid, holding his own ahead of Paulsen (who I hope gets his chance next game). 

The subs unfortunately disrupted our momentum, Kosta and Old not really up to speed with our tactical requirements perhaps after being out of the setup for so long.

The League of Ireland boys can't be in the XI - nowhere near the consistency or ability required for an opponent of this level. Pijnaker had some great 1-on-1 duels, but his speed and lack of awareness are going to kill us. Bindon and Surman, both having standout seasons, are right there!

loyalgunner

We outplayed them for long stretches but yet again couldn't make it happen. I don't know exactly what the problem is. We can get the ball in there - not as often as I'd like but we had chances. Even when Wood is playing, he's usually ineffective against good opposition.

Really hoping Tunisia are up next.  They're not at all bad, but they're nothing on Croatia. I'd hope Bazeley shifts the squad around for this game.

Bazeley has to be the most unimpressive of coaches. I really hope we can line someone else up ahead of the World Cup and get rid of him.

The coaching selection for this group of players was the most insipid, boruing safe optioin for NZF, especially after the fudgeed around for so long. There must have been someone out there who wanted the job with a decent understanding of how to play attacking football.

Cacace great game, class above the rest. Mata wasteful in front of goal, Garbett is not up to this level…bring back Rojas. NZ look like a team ranked 103 where as I’ll eat my socks if Egypt are really ranked 36.

Palau

Cacace great game, class above the rest. Mata wasteful in front of goal, Garbett is not up to this level…bring back Rojas. NZ look like a team ranked 103 where as I’ll eat my socks if Egypt are really ranked 36.

 Rankings mean fudge all.

Guess we aren't getting any post match interviews.  

On a more positive note, Crocombe, Singh, Boxall, and Cacace were good value.  Actually, Cacace was excellent. I still pinch myself that NZ has a player of his calibre.

Stamenic and Garbett didn't do a whole lot. Lewis grew into the game and was more effective than both.  Other than the penalty and a few loose balls, Pijnaker was fairly solid. Ingham did fairly well out wide.

I want to see Mata be more effective, but I don't see how he starts ahead of Waine.  Waine plays in a much more competitive league. Sure, he's not a starter and would benefit from a loan, but he appears. Mata, on the other hand, excels in Ireland but couldn't hack League 1.

I didn't notice much from Just or Old (good or bad), while Bindon did himself proud in the few short minutes he got.

Edit: In response to an above comment, NZ did not look like a team ranked 103. We looked considerably better than that. It was largely our finishing letting us down.

I thought Stamenic did a really good solid job and our midfield worked well together. Garbett made too many errors in the second half. Waineo, did he get a touch? Very impressed with Boxall's game.  

loyalgunner

On a more positive note, Crocombe, Singh, Boxall, and Cacace were good value.  Actually, Cacace was excellent. I still pinch myself that NZ has a player of his calibre.

Stamenic and Garbett didn't do a whole lot. Lewis grew into the game and was more effective than both.  Other than the penalty and a few loose balls, Pijnaker was fairly solid. Ingham did fairly well out wide.

I want to see Mata be more effective, but I don't see how he starts ahead of Waine.  Waine plays in a much more competitive league. Sure, he's not a starter and would benefit from a loan, but he appears. Mata, on the other hand, excels in Ireland but couldn't hack League 1.

I didn't notice much from Just or Old (good or bad), while Bindon did himself proud in the few short minutes he got.

Edit: In response to an above comment, NZ did not look like a team ranked 103. We looked considerably better than that. It was largely our finishing letting us down.

All Whites have never scored many goals, hence the reason we're ranked where we are. All this talk about better team and competitive, building project etc means nothing if we can't start scoring more goals

imanixsupporter

Ingham's best game in a white shirt potentially. Offered nothing going forward but reasonably solid defensively. 

Had a top game I thought, and offered some nice link play at times. Can't remember him making a cross, though my FIFA + feed kept breaking up.

All in all a promising AWs performance, but as the commentator said at one point, 'just felt like Egypt had that step up in quality when they needed it'.

I can't see the other semi in the tournament Croatia v Tunisia available on FIFA+
Has anyone found it anywhere?
I reckon that Tunisia could be tougher than Egypt if we play them.
They've selected a strong squad with players from the Bundesliga, France, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey etc.:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia_national_football_team#Players

mrsmiis

Our weak links out there really made themselves evident, only so much Singh and Cacace can do. 

Lewis had a poor start but really grew into the game - Garbett the exact opposite.
Crocombe really solid, holding his own ahead of Paulsen (who I hope gets his chance next game). 

The subs unfortunately disrupted our momentum, Kosta and Old not really up to speed with our tactical requirements perhaps after being out of the setup for so long.

The League of Ireland boys can't be in the XI - nowhere near the consistency or ability required for an opponent of this level. Pijnaker had some great 1-on-1 duels, but his speed and lack of awareness are going to kill us. Bindon and Surman, both having standout seasons, are right there!

I think Pijnaker was picked as he has more international experience than Surman & Bindon, and with these international windows you don't get alot of time together. He's played with Boxall now a fair bit, and CB pairings can be combinations. Like YH I thought Nando got a toe to the ball first but it was always a dangerous tackle to make. Boxy a top game.

Mata is a bigger bodied holdup play outlet compared to Waine. More Wood like for like. A reason Waineo gets so few mins in the Championship, is that lone striker thing is not really his game. If Mata can get a proper pre season at Shrewsbury this year, he may still yet cut it at L1 level, ie score goals.

Can see Bindon starting the 2nd game.