But can he defend. We have no idea from this game.
Who doesn't love a goal scoring CB? 👀
In fairness though he is solid enough, but I don't think he was spectacular at the U20 World Cup, especially in the games against Argentina and the USA (although very few emerged with credit after those two games).
First half was great. Second half, well, it was a bit disjointed and sloppy to be honest. Not sure too many of the subs made at the start of the second half will be banging down the door and forcing their way into the starting XI for the final, bar maybe someone like Keegan Kelly who looked lively and industrious - as well as a little unlucky to not have nabbed a goal.
We outplayed FIJI with a weaker squad - should absolutley run over the top of them in the final.
Is the gap getting bigger finally?
It seems now that we can win these tournaments fairly comfortably, even without a lot of our better players.
The 11 that played in the first match against Fiji was not really so much weaker. I think they just took off some intensity at 3-0 up.
The gap has always been massive, it just feels a long time since we've hosted an OFC tournament in New Zealand and not up north in the tropical islands. Just as the NZ boys feel less accustomed to the climate when they go away, the island boys aren't used to the colder temperatures here. You could see a few Vanuatu boys in gloves yesterday, for example. So in 'away' tournaments the NZ boys might only be at 70%, whereas it's local climate for the opposition; it's reversed when in New Zealand.
Fiji have a few New Zealand-Fijians in their squad, so they will be most used to the conditions here and marginal gains like that help them. From their squad yesterday: Mustahib, McMullen, Nabeel, Atiq, Nabenu, Singh are all NZ-Fijian, then Dogalau used to play in New Zealand and Dunn is Aus-Fijian.
Bring Jesse Randall back to the Nix, or at least get him back for this new Auckland outfit. Player of the tournament for mine. Just as I say that he wins a penalty too, and subsequently buries it as well.
Riley Bidois looks good. Always wondered why he didn't get more of a chance at the nix
Probably too young during his time here, but seriously looks to have come on leaps and bounds - Proper looking #9 he is now, good positioning, quick and good hold up play.
Obviously can't get too far ahead of ourselves given the level of the opposition, but he has been very good tonight. Thought he was good against the China U23's earlier this year as well.
Well done lads, got better and better each game with the only disappointment for mine being that we didn't get that extra game at the start against PNG.
Some real talent coming through, and somewhat pleasing to see it's not exclusively just the Nix lads showing their wares.
Riley Bidois looks good. Always wondered why he didn't get more of a chance at the nix
Probably too young during his time here, but seriously looks to have come on leaps and bounds - Proper looking #9 he is now, good positioning, quick and good hold up play.
Obviously can't get too far ahead of ourselves given the level of the opposition, but he has been very good tonight. Thought he was good against the China U23's earlier this year as well.
Bidois still with the Nix, just been getting game time elsewhere? Iirc
Riley Bidois looks good. Always wondered why he didn't get more of a chance at the nix
Probably too young during his time here, but seriously looks to have come on leaps and bounds - Proper looking #9 he is now, good positioning, quick and good hold up play.
Obviously can't get too far ahead of ourselves given the level of the opposition, but he has been very good tonight. Thought he was good against the China U23's earlier this year as well.
Bidois still with the Nix, just been getting game time elsewhere? Iirc
Nah that’s Jackson Manuel who was on loan at Western Springs. Bidois was released and now plays for Dandenong City.
Might seem a bit churlish after a 9-0 victory but was a bit underwhelmed by parts of the performance. Okay it is difficult when the opposition is so poor and playing against 10 men for 70 minutes , but parts of the performance , particularly in the second half , were very sloppy. Lots of poor passing and average defending that would have been punished by a better side. On the positive note it was great to see some of the attacking players being prepared to take on opposition defenders. Not sure what the crowd was but my ticket was 1428 and lots came in after me although may have been pre purchased. Gate sales procedure was abysmal - really slow and only 2 booths. Crowd was predominantly Fijian who were remarkably good natured given the pantsing they were getting. Fijian football always disappoints me. They have some great athletes and the local Indian population financially supports the game. as usual poor discipline was a problem. It appears to me that in domestic Fijian football rough and dangerous play often goes unpunished and that play is severely clamped down on when they play in Oceania tournaments. After about 15 minutes I commented to the person beside me that I couldn't see Fiji finishing with 11 . They were a little fortunate to finish with just 10 as you could see the NZ team getting very frustrated with some of the fouls late on. The Tahitian referee (Huata - not sure of the spelling ) kept things under control well. He is probably the best ref in Oceania and given he is not a Kiwi gets most of the big games
Unfortunately this is how it is and its well known in Fijian football circles. Ive played in Fiji in the past and the rough play, dodgy reffing and uneven fields are just the norm. It may get 'results' in their backyard and for winners in their domestic game but its actually destroying Fiji football. Other Pacific teams like the Solomons and New Caledonia have better skilled players. I know rugby seems to be the big thing in Fiji but EVERYONE also plays football everywhere, in villages, on any field you find lots of football being played. Lots of good Fijian players in NZ as well but they need to overhaul their program and start with proper technique and structure, not just 'bully ball'.chubbs
Might seem a bit churlish after a 9-0 victory but was a bit underwhelmed by parts of the performance. Okay it is difficult when the opposition is so poor and playing against 10 men for 70 minutes , but parts of the performance , particularly in the second half , were very sloppy. Lots of poor passing and average defending that would have been punished by a better side. On the positive note it was great to see some of the attacking players being prepared to take on opposition defenders. Not sure what the crowd was but my ticket was 1428 and lots came in after me although may have been pre purchased. Gate sales procedure was abysmal - really slow and only 2 booths. Crowd was predominantly Fijian who were remarkably good natured given the pantsing they were getting. Fijian football always disappoints me. They have some great athletes and the local Indian population financially supports the game. as usual poor discipline was a problem. It appears to me that in domestic Fijian football rough and dangerous play often goes unpunished and that play is severely clamped down on when they play in Oceania tournaments. After about 15 minutes I commented to the person beside me that I couldn't see Fiji finishing with 11 . They were a little fortunate to finish with just 10 as you could see the NZ team getting very frustrated with some of the fouls late on. The Tahitian referee (Huata - not sure of the spelling ) kept things under control well. He is probably the best ref in Oceania and given he is not a Kiwi gets most of the big games
so this, we go into the olympics having destroyed everyone, then we meet some quality and struggle.
We will also have a stronger team for the Olympics as well though, with players who have played together in the senior team.
The likes of Waine, Garbett, Stamenic will be coming in, along with some over age players.
There’s also the chance of snagging Matt Dibley-Dias and Tyler Bindon.
My ideal squad for the Olympics looks like this, but I also think an argument to include Bell or Boxall over Singh could be made: IMG_5516.jpeg441.7 KB
So your Paris squad of 22, only has 5 guys that played in this Olympics qualifying tourney?
Probably not far off the mark to be fair. Hughes ahead of Linder? OVH & Ebbinge will be in the mix. But yes most of next year's Olympic squad won't have played in this OFC walk in the park.
Edit - Keegan Jelacic could also switch back to NZ (if the FIFA rules allow it) if he misses out on the Olyroos. He's currently not with their U23s at their AFC tourney.
Got my "will be a close game" prediction horribly wrong! Gees it wasn't a full strength nz side. Fair play to us though smashed them. Not great for oceania - maybe this pro league thats happening will help but who knows
So your Paris squad of 22, only has 5 guys that played in this Olympics qualifying tourney?
Probably not far off the mark to be fair. Hughes ahead of Linder? OVH & Ebbinge will be in the mix. But yes most of next year's Olympic squad won't have played in this OFC walk in the park.
Could it drop back to squads of 18? I believe Covid was cited as the reason for the increase to 22.
so this, we go into the olympics having destroyed everyone, then we meet some quality and struggle.
We will also have a stronger team for the Olympics as well though, with players who have played together in the senior team.
The likes of Waine, Garbett, Stamenic will be coming in, along with some over age players.
There’s also the chance of snagging Matt Dibley-Dias and Tyler Bindon.
My ideal squad for the Olympics looks like this, but I also think an argument to include Bell or Boxall over Singh could be made: IMG_5516.jpeg441.7 KB
That midfield is absolutely class. Gaping hole at RB, so much so that I wonder if we stick Cacace there/think of bringing someone like Tuiloma as an OA in lieu of Singh. Though, Bazeley does really seem to rate Wynne and he was great against China
so this, we go into the olympics having destroyed everyone, then we meet some quality and struggle.
We will also have a stronger team for the Olympics as well though, with players who have played together in the senior team.
The likes of Waine, Garbett, Stamenic will be coming in, along with some over age players.
There’s also the chance of snagging Matt Dibley-Dias and Tyler Bindon.
My ideal squad for the Olympics looks like this, but I also think an argument to include Bell or Boxall over Singh could be made: IMG_5516.jpeg441.7 KB
That midfield is absolutely class. Gaping hole at RB, so much so that I wonder if we stick Cacace there/think of bringing someone like Tuiloma as an OA in lieu of Singh. Though, Bazeley does really seem to rate Wynne and he was great against China
Yeah there’s a real dearth of RBs regardless of age grade. Hoping Elliot can find a club and kick on for the senior side but outside of Kirwan and Roux there’s no dedicated RBs playing at a decent level.
so this, we go into the olympics having destroyed everyone, then we meet some quality and struggle.
We will also have a stronger team for the Olympics as well though, with players who have played together in the senior team.
The likes of Waine, Garbett, Stamenic will be coming in, along with some over age players.
There’s also the chance of snagging Matt Dibley-Dias and Tyler Bindon.
My ideal squad for the Olympics looks like this, but I also think an argument to include Bell or Boxall over Singh could be made: IMG_5516.jpeg441.7 KB
That midfield is absolutely class. Gaping hole at RB, so much so that I wonder if we stick Cacace there/think of bringing someone like Tuiloma as an OA in lieu of Singh. Though, Bazeley does really seem to rate Wynne and he was great against China
Yeah there’s a real dearth of RBs regardless of age grade. Hoping Elliot can find a club and kick on for the senior side but outside of Kirwan and Roux there’s no dedicated RBs playing at a decent level.
Dalton Wilkins has been playing at RB/RWB over in Denmark for his club side Kolding, picking up and quite successfully playing as an inverted fullback since the end of last season.
He'll be a good shout to get a call-up over the next couple of international windows. Match fit, and fits the progressive type of system/way that we want to play + good utility value covering down the left hand side as well.
