The Road To Brazil 2014 via Wellington feat. Mexico

If you look at this link the dates for the CONCACAF play off it will be 15 October in CONCACAF and 19 November in New Zealand.

AFC Website

Yeah fair point mate, not easy for them at all.  I just think the current approach of threatening and pleading fans to attend (Van Hattum especially) doesn't acknowledge that there's no tradition of watching live mid week sport in NZ so they need to do it differently.

 Squad named.

Goalkeepers

Glen MOSS (Wellington Phoenix – 19/0)
Mark PASTON (Wellington Phoenix – 34/0)

Defenders

Tony LOCHHEAD (Wellington Phoenix – 40/0)
Ryan NELSEN (Captain / Queen’s Park Rangers, ENG – 48/6)
Winston REID (West Ham United, ENG – 12/1)
Ben SIGMUND (Wellington Phoenix – 25/1)
Tommy SMITH (Ipswich Town, ENG – 18/1)

Midfielders

Leo BERTOS (Wellington Phoenix – 47/0)
Dan KEAT (Los Angeles Galaxy, USA – 1/0)
Michael McGLINCHEY (Central Coast Mariners, AUS – 18/1)
Tim PAYNE (Blackburn Rovers, ENG – 5/0
Marco ROJAS (Melbourne Victory, AUS – 11/1)
Ivan VICELICH (Auckland City – 82/6)

Forwards

Kosta BARBAROUSES (Panathinaikos, GRE – 14/2)
Jeremy BROCKIE (Wellington Phoenix – 32/0)
Chris KILLEN (Chongqing, CHN – 44/13)
Shane SMELTZ (Perth Glory, AUS – 45/22)
Chris WOOD (West Bromwich Albion, ENG – 27/9)

Coach: Ricki HERBERT

 Good to see Ricki has resisted the urge to pick a weakened AW team in order to play them for the nix.

Looks like you're a chance for a bench spot for the Nix.

I find it interesting that Brockie hasn't scored for the AW's in 32 appearances, although obviously a number of them would be subsitute appearances.  Expecting that duck broken very soon.

Pretty sure I remember Tony Lochhead scoring against the Solomons as well. Nice one NZF.

Also, Kosta isn't signed with Panathinaikos, he's on loan. Good one NZF.

Boxall's chance to shine for the nix

Was hoping Moss and Brockie wouldn't be selected, so that they could play for the Phoenix in Melbourne, but you have to imagine the Victory, the Glory and the Mariners wouldn't take too kindly to that sort of carry on. That said, glad Boxall's been left out. 

Hope Keat gets a start in at least one of the games.

I hop ewe play our strongest side and get six points. Playing with selections can wait until we have qualified.

 Should NZL get 6 points they would be in the play off.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/7780379/Premier-League-stars-bring-steel-and-silk   by Danny Hay

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/7779864/All-Whites-target-Tahiti-in-World-Cup-race  by Simon Plumb

Good to see a strong AW's side named. No news on naming of Tahiti squad yet that I can find -although it's bound to be pretty much the same as their team which participated in the "Coupe de l'Outre-mer de Football" (The Overseas Territories Football Cup") in Paris which finished a week ago.

This would have given Tahiti (referred to as "Polynesie" in French reports) damn good prep having played four games in a tightly fought comp.

By the way, they reversed their form of the last rounds of OFC World Cup qualifiers and were way better than New Caledonia. Tahiti won two and lost one group games before losing their play-off round clash 2-1 to French Guiana. 

Tahiti team for the play-off match v French Guiana:

POLYNESIA: Meriel, A. Tehau, L. Tehau, then Kohumoetini Poroiae (46th), Chen, Vallar, Atani, Labayen, Simon, J. Tehau and Chong Hue (46th), Samin. Trainer: Ludovic Graugnard

New Caledonia lost all their group games and failed to score before a sensational 16-1 annihilation of little Saint Pierre and Miquelon (in which eleven different players scored for New Caledonia). That team was the only whipping boy in the comp (two groups of four) and the other teams' scores were respectable.

Reunion beat Martinique on penalties in the final.

LE CLASSEMENT FINAL
1. Réunion
2. Martinique
3. Guadeloupe
4. Mayotte
5. Guyane
6. Polynésie
7. Nouvelle-Calédonie
8. Saint-Pierre et Miquelon

Reports here:

Click on the "Report" link below each match score for details on each game:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Coupe_de_l'Outre-Mer

http://www.outremersports.com/component/search/?searchword=polynesie&searchphrase=all&Itemid=506

UK Football Writers' Association report on Tahiti, winning the OFC Nations Cup and qualifying for the 2013 Confeds Cup:

"Tahiti ... are not so much a national team as a family side. Lorenzo, Alvin, Teaonui and Jonathon Tehua are regulars for Tahiti, which is believed to be a world record. The Tehuas scored nine of Tahiti’s goals in the 10-1 win over Samoa in the opening tie of the OFC finals with eldest brother Jonathon, 24, scoring a double, twins Lorenzo and Alvin netting four and two respectively, and their 19-year-old cousin Teaonui one."

http://www.footballwriters.co.uk/features/fwa-spotlight-tahiti-its-a-family-affair-as-minnows-prepare-to-take-on-worlds-elite/

Here we go again, the usual bullshit...

http://tvnz.co.nz/football-news/reid-stranded-park-injuries-plague-west-ham-5119239 

So if Reid doesn't make the trip and Sigmund gets promoted to the starting line-up who does Herbert bring into the squad as cover? Boxall? Or does he rely on Vicelich as defensive  cover?

Sorry if this has been discussed earlier in the thread, I have looked a few pages back but can't find anything; is the Tahiti away game going to be shown on Sky or not? 

Not. Only on radio sport.

Match is being broadcast live on local TV in Tahiti, but no network in NZ (yet) has opted to take the feed.  It's available, but at this stage, won't be screened here...

Interesting. Since sky were really playing on the "there is no local coverage" as being the only reason they didn't show the last game. 

I'm interviewing the dude from OFC who does the TV stuff tomorrow.  Will hopefully find out who is to blame.

Ask him how come some 14 year old dweeb from Buttfuck USA can organise himself to livestream his friends doing backyard wrsetling moves on Justin.tv, but OFC cannot organise streaming of the qualifiers.

Linky?

Billy Bob's Backyard Wresting Championship Channel

I think you'll find local TV in Tahiti have the rights to the game, and therefore any foreign station wanting to show it need to purchase the rights... and so OFC don't get to stream it, because they aren't the ones televising it... it's not like OFC could've streamed SKY's coverage of the Solomons match the other week, as SKY were the rights holders via the agreement with the NZF...

Frustrating as it is, I think it's probably just a case of $$ - no NZ broadcaster wants to pay for the feed from Tahiti... and there are also some whispers that they aren't happy that it'll be broadcast in 4:3 ration rather than widescreen HD, but that may be rumour rather than accurate...

Back in 2007-08, we got coverage from Fiji and New Caledonia because the local stations televised them, and NZ networks paid for the right to show them... this time round, for whatever reason, that option isn't being exercised... am not convinced OFC is at fault with this...

Was it the Nations Cup, or the friendlies against Honduras and El Salvador that were broadcast in 4:3?It was definitely at least one of the two, so that can't be fatal.

That and sky can hardly spout "the only reason we aren't showin it is because of no local broadcaster" then next time round not show it even though there is a local broadcaster. They were pushing that line pretty hard last time,makes them lying gits,in my mind. 

 http://www.3news.co.nz/Vicelich-eyes-World-Cup-after-back-from-retirement/tabid/415/articleID/272097/Default.aspx?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"The challenge now is to hold off the youngsters and continue his midfield role at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Now that really would be the perfect way to bow out."

I just thnk it's crap that they really pulled that line last time,when even if there was a local broadcaster they wouldn't have shown it. It's pretty typical of them in regards to football tbh. 

I really really hope Vieclich is not in our next World Cup Squad.

Nothing against the guy, great NZ player but his lack of pace is a major concern and he's only getting slower.

 - are there any fitness stats available on NZ players, like whose the quickest over 10 yards, whose got the best verticl leap etc. Would love to see he would wint etc.

Live update:

45' GOAL!!! Solomon Islands 1 New Caledonia 2: New Caledonia go in front again when Gope-Fenepej heads in a Bertrand Kai cross

The Solos conceded four in the last 12 minutes.  

90' + 1' GOAL!!! Solomon Islands 2 New Caledonia 6: The visitors score again when Gope-Fenepej is gifted a tap in at the far post for his fourth.

pretty epic last 12 mins

a Solomon's comeback in next game would make our lives a bit easier

NewCal's goal diff  might end up looking a bit healthy for our liking

edit - currently our goal diff is 1 better and equal pts with us having a game in hand

Damn - ignore button is on again!