Yep, if you bench the 3 latest arrivals the team picks itself, except for the Rogerson/Kosta toss-up. Lucky for Kosta he broke his goal drought in the weekend, might just tip it in his favour.
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
But Kosta hasn't really played much as a wide player/winger this season. Though yes he's done it not that long ago, and he's been playing alongside the Woodsman for years.
I gotta agree with this. I think where we miss out the most as fans both now and the old path is regular competitive and meaningful games in the international windows. Waiting 4 years for the couple of games that actually matter and we’re paying $1.03 to win
Yeah I appreciate we will get the big windfall every 4 years but don’t think that’s how we are really going to develop. InsulinMachine
I don't know but I just can't get excited about playing island teams sorry. Even if it results in direct WC qualification. Bring back team like Bahrain, Mexico and Peru. Or even better get into Asia
For those going to the earlier game please be aware there are no pass outs - you need to stay in the stadium the whole time from when you enter. I could be wrong but check your tickets to be extra sure
Fell victim to this at the earlier Hamilton All Whites game, ground staff said they had no choice and this was FIFA regulations
Hmm, where did you find this info please? The Ticketing Info section on the Sky Stadium page says:
Pass outs will be available from half time of the first match up until 5.30pm. To ensure re-entry into the stadium, please remember to scan your ticket when leaving. Pass outs do not apply to car parking.
I'm hoping that's correct because it's a long time to be sitting around the RoF eating overpriced fish bites otherwise!
Also, for anyone else like me who's playing catch-up:
New Zealand Football and PUMA have unveiled their first limited release All Whites fan shirt which can be ordered online now at the New Zealand Football store and will be available to purchase at the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 - Oceania Qualifiers.
I presume there is extra time if scores are level after 90 minutes full-time? If the first match goes to ET and pens, then it could eat up a good amount of time between games.
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
More money is NZFs pocket to fund grassroots development and higher quality games for the All Whites/Ferns is exactly how we get better.
Sure Asia would be great but it's a pipe dream that there's no point even discussing anymore given it runs directly contrary to FIFAs ongoing efforts to develop football in OFC.
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
Nelfoos
More money is NZFs pocket to fund grassroots development and higher quality games for the All Whites/Ferns is exactly how we get better.
Sure Asia would be great but it's a pipe dream that there's no point even discussing anymore given it runs directly contrary to FIFAs ongoing efforts to develop football in OFC.
And so far so good in terms of getting higher quality games for our men and women.
For the men, tournament matches against Ivory Coast and Ukraine, who as far as I'm aware we've never played either before, confirmed just earlier today, and of course the friendly against Norway in October.
Hopefully for the women after the CT games, which could still prove a decent challenge, NZF can also lock in some matches for them against similar opposition.
More money is NZFs pocket to fund grassroots development and higher quality games for the All Whites/Ferns is exactly how we get better.
Sure Asia would be great but it's a pipe dream that there's no point even discussing anymore given it runs directly contrary to FIFAs ongoing efforts to develop football in OFC.
And so far so good in terms of getting higher quality games for our men and women.
For the men, tournament matches against Ivory Coast and Ukraine, who as far as I'm aware we've never played either before, confirmed just earlier today, and of course the friendly against Norway in October.
Hopefully for the women after the CT games, which could still prove a decent challenge, NZF can also lock in some matches for them against similar opposition.
I gotta agree with this. I think where we miss out the most as fans both now and the old path is regular competitive and meaningful games in the international windows. Waiting 4 years for the couple of games that actually matter and we’re paying $1.03 to win
Yeah I appreciate we will get the big windfall every 4 years but don’t think that’s how we are really going to develop. InsulinMachine
I don't know but I just can't get excited about playing island teams sorry. Even if it results in direct WC qualification. Bring back team like Bahrain, Mexico and Peru. Or even better get into Asia
I'm genuinely confident that we could qualify (nearly) every WC through Asia as we kind of did in '82 and '10.
I'm sure there would be a lot more interest in us vs. Australia/Iran/Japan/Korea then a final vs. New Caledonia or Tahiti.
Supporter world's best and worst football teams: Waikato/WaiBop, Kingz, Knights, Phoenix, The Argyle, The Whites & the All Whites
More money is NZFs pocket to fund grassroots development and higher quality games for the All Whites/Ferns is exactly how we get better.
Sure Asia would be great but it's a pipe dream that there's no point even discussing anymore given it runs directly contrary to FIFAs ongoing efforts to develop football in OFC.
And so far so good in terms of getting higher quality games for our men and women.
For the men, tournament matches against Ivory Coast and Ukraine, who as far as I'm aware we've never played either before, confirmed just earlier today, and of course the friendly against Norway in October.
Hopefully for the women after the CT games, which could still prove a decent challenge, NZF can also lock in some matches for them against similar opposition.
Already booked leave for these matches. I have a feeling there will not be too many fans of any of these teams there in Canada. I just hope they don't become behind closed door events. Pity they are in Toronto and not Vancouver or a more interesting Canadian city. Toronto is a bit ersatz.
They matches are double-headers with the matches between Canada and the other team (one is before the Canada match, one is after)
More money is NZFs pocket to fund grassroots development and higher quality games for the All Whites/Ferns is exactly how we get better.
Sure Asia would be great but it's a pipe dream that there's no point even discussing anymore given it runs directly contrary to FIFAs ongoing efforts to develop football in OFC.
And so far so good in terms of getting higher quality games for our men and women.
For the men, tournament matches against Ivory Coast and Ukraine, who as far as I'm aware we've never played either before, confirmed just earlier today, and of course the friendly against Norway in October.
Hopefully for the women after the CT games, which could still prove a decent challenge, NZF can also lock in some matches for them against similar opposition.
Already booked leave for these matches. I have a feeling there will not be too many fans of any of these teams there in Canada. I just hope they don't become behind closed door events. Pity they are in Toronto and not Vancouver or a more interesting Canadian city. Toronto is a bit ersatz.
They matches are double-headers with the matches between Canada and the other team (one is before the Canada match, one is after)
I missed the Canadian involvement so have deleted the above. Thanks for pointing that out Andrew.
Supporter world's best and worst football teams: Waikato/WaiBop, Kingz, Knights, Phoenix, The Argyle, The Whites & the All Whites
Its not NZs fault that we get to the WC finals by beating up a couple of Pacific Island teams. FIFA set the rules. Its water under the bridge now but they should never have let Australia leave Oceania. An AW vs Australia qualification final would have been a huge event. We can convince ourselves that the WC money will be great but do we really deserve to be there by beating Fiji and Tahiti? No IMO. There will be dozens of teams way better than us who wont qualify. Italy have not qualified for the last two WCs. The WC used to be the pinnacle of quality for world football but its turning into a sort of woke participation event.
Its not NZs fault that we get to the WC finals by beating up a couple of Pacific Island teams. FIFA set the rules. Its water under the bridge now but they should never have let Australia leave Oceania. An AW vs Australia qualification final would have been a huge event. We can convince ourselves that the WC money will be great but do we really deserve to be there by beating Fiji and Tahiti? No IMO. There will be dozens of teams way better than us who wont qualify. Italy have not qualified for the last two WCs. The WC used to be the pinnacle of quality for world football but its turning into a sort of woke participation event.
The sporting event they put in Russia and Qatar and soon Saudi is fudgeing woke? Come on now
I gotta agree with this. I think where we miss out the most as fans both now and the old path is regular competitive and meaningful games in the international windows. Waiting 4 years for the couple of games that actually matter and we’re paying $1.03 to win
Yeah I appreciate we will get the big windfall every 4 years but don’t think that’s how we are really going to develop. InsulinMachine
I don't know but I just can't get excited about playing island teams sorry. Even if it results in direct WC qualification. Bring back team like Bahrain, Mexico and Peru. Or even better get into Asia
I'm genuinely confident that we could qualify (nearly) every WC through Asia as we kind of did in '82 and '10.
I'm sure there would be a lot more interest in us vs. Australia/Iran/Japan/Korea then a final vs. New Caledonia or Tahiti.
Hard disagree. You underestimate the quality in AFC. Beyond the top sides of Aus/Japan/South Korea/Iran/Saudi there is serious depth and it's only improving. A lot of travel especially to difficult middle eastern climates. A lot of teams well versed in sharkhousery and stifling the opponent.
I'm not saying we couldn't do it, I mean looking at the 18 sides playing in the last AFC round I'd say we'd be about in the middle quality-wise so in with a shot, but to say we'd make it nearly every time is just nonsense.
2022 case in point - we were playing well and had a strong squad for our own standards, and even still we lost those friendly games vs Aus (who missed top 4 of AFC and only qualified through the playoffs) home and away.
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
Exactly. Yeah just because of the Middle Eastern teams are mostly all home based selections, with players who's names we can't pronounce, doesn't make them very tough to beat. Especially in their backyard.
Look how the Socceroos were struggling early on in this phase. Shock loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast. Draw in Indonesia. Arnold steps down. They still have far better depth than us, but unlike Japan are finding it tough.
I'd take a wild guess and say we'd qualify 50% of the time, with AFC now having 8 spots at the 48 team WC plus a playoff spot.
Sure the FIFA rankings have their limitations. But there are 12 AFC teams with a higher ranking than the AWs (89th). A 13th in China, who we struggled to beat at home 2 years ago, just behind us at 90th in the rankings.
With the context of the late arrivals, but ignoring the context of Bazely as a whole - this is what I would like to see against Fijiimage.png61.45 KBBut it'll be something like this instead, won't itimage.png62.1 KB
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
LT01
Marto
mykey
I gotta agree with this. I think where we miss out the most as fans both now and the old path is regular competitive and meaningful games in the international windows. Waiting 4 years for the couple of games that actually matter and we’re paying $1.03 to win
Yeah I appreciate we will get the big windfall every 4 years but don’t think that’s how we are really going to develop. InsulinMachine
I don't know but I just can't get excited about playing island teams sorry. Even if it results in direct WC qualification. Bring back team like Bahrain, Mexico and Peru. Or even better get into Asia
I'm genuinely confident that we could qualify (nearly) every WC through Asia as we kind of did in '82 and '10.
I'm sure there would be a lot more interest in us vs. Australia/Iran/Japan/Korea then a final vs. New Caledonia or Tahiti.
Hard disagree. You underestimate the quality in AFC. Beyond the top sides of Aus/Japan/South Korea/Iran/Saudi there is serious depth and it's only improving. A lot of travel especially to difficult middle eastern climates. A lot of teams well versed in sharkhousery and stifling the opponent.
I'm not saying we couldn't do it, I mean looking at the 18 sides playing in the last AFC round I'd say we'd be about in the middle quality-wise so in with a shot, but to say we'd make it nearly every time is just nonsense.
2022 case in point - we were playing well and had a strong squad for our own standards, and even still we lost those friendly games vs Aus (who missed top 4 of AFC and only qualified through the playoffs) home and away.
with 8.5 spots for Asia, I'm quite confident we could do it most of the time. Under the old 4 team system, highly unlikely.
I follow Iran as my family is half Persian and have probably watched more middle eastern fixtures then most here and and for all the BS sharkhousery that goes on, have confidence in us getting results. You just have to look at '82, '09 and '23 for proof of that. It would be ugly but we can do it.
Supporter world's best and worst football teams: Waikato/WaiBop, Kingz, Knights, Phoenix, The Argyle, The Whites & the All Whites
With the context of the late arrivals, but ignoring the context of Bazely as a whole - this is what I would like to see against Fijiimage.png61.45 KBBut it'll be something like this instead, won't itimage.png62.1 KB
While it's only Fiji, is Garbett match fit enough for this fixture?
Supporter world's best and worst football teams: Waikato/WaiBop, Kingz, Knights, Phoenix, The Argyle, The Whites & the All Whites
Not sure why Paulsen wouldn't start in goal. Yes, Crocombe has served us well, but he is a journeyman keeper playing for a struggling league 1 side (and didn't exactly cover himself in glory in his last A-League spell - dropped from a Melbourne Victory team that took out the wooden spoon). Paulsen is an exceptional talent and will/should be our keeper in the WC (and beyond) - now is the time to embed him as our number 1.
Not sure why Paulsen wouldn't start in goal. Yes, Crocombe has served us well, but he is a journeyman keeper playing for a struggling league 1 side (and didn't exactly cover himself in glory in his last A-League spell - dropped from a Melbourne Victory team that took out the wooden spoon). Paulsen is an exceptional talent and will/should be our keeper in the WC (and beyond) - now is the time to embed him as our number 1.
I dont think Paulsen adds significantly over crocombe, or vice versa. paulsen in time yes, crocombe fine for time being
With the context of the late arrivals, but ignoring the context of Bazely as a whole - this is what I would like to see against Fijiimage.png61.45 KBBut it'll be something like this instead, won't itimage.png62.1 KB
While it's only Fiji, is Garbett match fit enough for this fixture?
Probably not, no. But I just think he's been so impressive against the island teams over the past 12 months or so. He brings a chaos and energy that I don't think anyone else in the squad has
I do feel for Fiji not having Krishna, I of course want us to win comfortably, but not to a point where it becomes an absolute thumping.
If we’re up by 3 or 4 goals at the end of the 1st half, I hope we ring some half-time changes, resting key players for the final against probably NC (who will at least pose more of a challenge, especially with Sotirio now committing) and slow it down in the 2nd half.
I do feel for Fiji not having Krishna, I of course want us to win comfortably, but not to a point where it becomes an absolute thumping.
If we’re up by 3 or 4 goals at the end of the 1st half, I hope we ring some half-time changes, resting key players for the final against probably NC (who will at least pose more of a challenge, especially with Sotirio now committing) and slow it down in the 2nd half.
With only 4 days between games you have to expect we will make key changes if in a comfortable lead anyway.
Am happy to help pronounce Middle Eastern names if anyone is stuck
coochiee
Exactly. Yeah just because of the Middle Eastern teams are mostly all home based selections, with players who's names we can't pronounce, doesn't make them very tough to beat. Especially in their backyard.
Look how the Socceroos were struggling early on in this phase. Shock loss to Bahrain on the Gold Coast. Draw in Indonesia. Arnold steps down. They still have far better depth than us, but unlike Japan are finding it tough.
I'd take a wild guess and say we'd qualify 50% of the time, with AFC now having 8 spots at the 48 team WC plus a playoff spot.
Sure the FIFA rankings have their limitations. But there are 12 AFC teams with a higher ranking than the AWs (89th). A 13th in China, who we struggled to beat at home 2 years ago, just behind us at 90th in the rankings.
And re Marto's post above. I live in Australia, and likely watch more Socceroos games than most. They consisently struggle against the ME teams. They have since entering AFC. And they have far greater depth than us.
Sure we have Wood, but then it's daylight. If the Woodsman was injured, as he often is (missed lots of AWs games last few years), we would really struggle to score against AFC teams.
Australia has the likes of Taggart, Kusini Yengi (2 goals against Bahrain last Nov), Goodwin, Velupillay, Martin Boyle, Maclaren, Mitch Duke, Fornaroli, and even they struggle in AFC. Botic would already be a starting AW.
As someone else said it's nonsense to suggest we would likely qualify for every WC if we were in AFC with it's 8.5 spots. Not why there is no obvious Woodsman heir apparent.
Just picked up my tickets. Pax 16605. Weather is pretty good and getting better by the hour; reckon we can get near on 20k through the gate. Hoping for a few goals after subjecting the young’uns to some tough Nix watching as of late
about 1 year ago· edited about 1 year ago· History
Addicks
Just picked up my tickets. Pax 16605. Weather is pretty good and getting better by the hour; reckon we can get near on 20k through the gate. Hoping for a few goals after subjecting the young’uns to some tough Nix watching as of late
In Wellington it never rains!
…and it’s at about this point that it strikes me I don’t know a single AWs chant. Time to Google.
some of those chants are very dated - particularly the ones dedicated to players of years gone by.
Yeah now that I read through them I’m thinking it’ll be easier just to keep an ear out and learn as I go.
Also tip for anyone coming to the 3pm game and looking to buy a shirt, the booth out front doesn’t have many adult sizes but the staff there are super-helpful and will cut the tags off shirts you purchase from the counter by Aisle 23.
