Is that from the perspective of fans or team performance? austin111
And best region for AWs would be Western Region with games in Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco and L.A. All rather hip cities far removed from the red neck zone. The Central zone with Mexico and Southern USA cities would be a sweat box in summer
Bazeley has already said he would prefer cities where the temps won't be too high, otherwise it will be much harder for the AWs to press hard for 90 mins.
Agruably the team's worst performance of the last few years (3-0 loss to Mexico in Pasadena) was on a sweltering day, with the midfield over run.
But likely most of the international coaches will be hoping for similar cooler venues. Certainly most of the UEFA teams.
Agree, not sure if hipness or red neck contribute or affect to much for the players or fans. Weather and cost (variable stadium ticket pricing) for sure.
Supporting the supporters and love an away day anywhere in the world. Kiwis Can Fly!
On another note, how sound a bloke does FdV come across as? Gutted we never signed him, gun fullback but seems a genuinely great guy
We’ve been lucky to see him in the A league imo. Had he played for the All Whites before then? Or been injured and the time blip where we didn’t play much? I honestly can’t think of a purer crosser of the ball I’ve seen in the Kiwi game or the Aussie game come to that.
On another note, how sound a bloke does FdV come across as? Gutted we never signed him, gun fullback but seems a genuinely great guy
We’ve been lucky to see him in the A league imo. Had he played for the All Whites before then? Or been injured and the time blip where we didn’t play much? I honestly can’t think of a purer crosser of the ball I’ve seen in the Kiwi game or the Aussie game come to that.
Yeah if I recall correctly he did get a couple of call ups in the Danny Hay era. In a similar fashion to Owen Parker Price of climbing up the ranks in the Swedish leagues until they had no choice but to shut up and notice. He must be remarkably resilient to not only have battled his way to the top of the pyramid on the opposite side of the world in his younger days. But also to get back into the frame for professional football after a major mid injury career threatened to derail things for a couple of years there.
I remember when he signed for Auckland FC and did an interview with Piney and was also impressed by how well spoken he came across.
On ticket pricing and categories, I've done a quick explainer video below. Join here for full updates. https://theflyingkiwisfc.com/new-zealand-football-all-whites-flying-kiwis-2026-world-cup-tour/
Main bits: 1. Category spread - Category 1 now occupies whole lower bowl. - Category 4 $60+ are for locals, and try find them below 👀Eg Category Map in Atlanta.jpg202.56 KB Very different from 2022 category configuration, but rough numbers for each look similar. lusail-stadium-ticket-categories-world-cup-qatar.jpg56.22 KB 2. In 2022, Member Associations (NZF) allocation was the following. It's been confirmed as 8% of sellable (after corporate and sponsors) so this ball park will be very similar. - 2400-4200 tickets. - 100 Cat 1, lots of Cat 3. - In 2022, for the general FIFA ballots there was 5x application demand to supply. Unless 20,000 kiwis apply through NZF, well have a much better chance this way. Screenshot_20251203-221207.png113.21 KB We're collating feedback and demand for categories and sharing with NZF. Aiming for a plan soon on what category to select for active support and if we can confirm a Flying Kiwis allocation to centralise and coordinate active support as we've done for games around the world the last 15 years.
Or if you fancy an early morning coffee/beer in the 09
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I wonder what time the draw will actually start? It's going to be farcical with that contrived peace prize being handed over to orange numpty. I think I'll sleep in.
I am really excited for the draw, but even the North American athletes involved are all MAGA. It's going to be a rough watch. I suspect my tolerance for Kevin Hart will have been breached inside of 15 minutes. It will be at least an hour of nonsense and propaganda before they draw anything.... And then we get the Village People playing YMCA to close.
I am really excited for the draw, but even the North American athletes involved are all MAGA. It's going to be a rough watch. I suspect my tolerance for Kevin Hart will have been breached inside of 15 minutes. It will be at least an hour of nonsense and propaganda before they draw anything.... And then we get the Village People playing YMCA to close.
I wonder what time the draw will actually start? It's going to be farcical with that contrived peace prize being handed over to orange numpty. I think I'll sleep in.
did fifa have to invent a peace prize to keep little president cokwomble happy? Like when you give a kid something to distract them from having a tantrum
I am really excited for the draw, but even the North American athletes involved are all MAGA. It's going to be a rough watch. I suspect my tolerance for Kevin Hart will have been breached inside of 15 minutes. It will be at least an hour of nonsense and propaganda before they draw anything.... And then we get the Village People playing YMCA to close.
Interested to hear which ones are wild
Well considering that Mexico is winless in six, just lost to Paraguay at home and couldn't score against an Uruguay side that shipped four first-half goals to the U.S.... saying that you'd rather play England or Portugal than Mexico... is an interesting opinion. Especially since you can't get Curacao or Haiti. If you could get a bad CONCACAF pot 4 team, I can see the case for missing the hosts in Pot 1. I suppose if it's from a purely "I'd rather not play Mexico again" perspective, but I would absolutely be focused on who might be the easiest side to get a result off of. I would rather play almost any Pot 1 team ahead of Portugal. I wouldn't fancy playing England much either.
In Pot 2, I think Senegal and Colombia could be the darkhorses to make a really deep run in the tournament. For me they might be the two best non-Pot 1 teams. The Swiss are good, Morocco should be good, Uruguay is a mess, but if they fire Bielsa they could be great... Croatia is so old. I'd never bet against them in a World Cup, but I honestly think the Swiss are a better side than Croatia. But here, Colombia is 100% the team I would least want to face. It's not close. And credit to you for your performance which maybe leads to them seeming less daunting. I'd rather play Brazil right now, than Colombia. Put it that way.
I would absolutely have Qatar as the weakest team in Pot 3. South Africa is probably 2. We'll see what Panama we get in the tournament, but I wouldn't have them second, probably fourth or fifth after KSA and maybe the Uzbeks, but I think the Uzbeks are a little under-rated, but still not one of the stronger pot 3 teams. But Scotland and Paraguay? I'd fancy both of those for you ahead of a lot of these teams, certainly much more than Egypt, Ivory Coast and Algeria. The good thing about Tunisia is that they're decent enough side, but struggle to score (similar to Ecuador, though they're a better side on the whole I think). Paraguay is well coached and defensively sound, but IMO nothing special. They lost to Panama and Costa Rica in 2024. And as someone who follows Scotland fairly closely, I think the decades of bad fortune they've had was cashed in, in full, during this campaign. I still don't know how they beat Greece at Hampden. I can't believe Denmark couldn't beat Belarus at home, and then the final match... Scotland have some quality in the side and they'll give it a good go. But no one should be afraid of Scotland IMO.
I think theprof is 100% on the money with his assessment.
I am really excited for the draw, but even the North American athletes involved are all MAGA. It's going to be a rough watch. I suspect my tolerance for Kevin Hart will have been breached inside of 15 minutes. It will be at least an hour of nonsense and propaganda before they draw anything.... And then we get the Village People playing YMCA to close.
Interested to hear which ones are wild
Well considering that Mexico is winless in six, just lost to Paraguay at home and couldn't score against an Uruguay side that shipped four first-half goals to the U.S.... saying that you'd rather play England or Portugal than Mexico... is an interesting opinion. Especially since you can't get Curacao or Haiti. If you could get a bad CONCACAF pot 4 team, I can see the case for missing the hosts in Pot 1. I suppose if it's from a purely "I'd rather not play Mexico again" perspective, but I would absolutely be focused on who might be the easiest side to get a result off of. I would rather play almost any Pot 1 team ahead of Portugal. I wouldn't fancy playing England much either.
In Pot 2, I think Senegal and Colombia could be the darkhorses to make a really deep run in the tournament. For me they might be the two best non-Pot 1 teams. The Swiss are good, Morocco should be good, Uruguay is a mess, but if they fire Bielsa they could be great... Croatia is so old. I'd never bet against them in a World Cup, but I honestly think the Swiss are a better side than Croatia. But here, Colombia is 100% the team I would least want to face. It's not close. And credit to you for your performance which maybe leads to them seeming less daunting. I'd rather play Brazil right now, than Colombia. Put it that way.
I would absolutely have Qatar as the weakest team in Pot 3. South Africa is probably 2. We'll see what Panama we get in the tournament, but I wouldn't have them second, probably fourth or fifth after KSA and maybe the Uzbeks, but I think the Uzbeks are a little under-rated, but still not one of the stronger pot 3 teams. But Scotland and Paraguay? I'd fancy both of those for you ahead of a lot of these teams, certainly much more than Egypt, Ivory Coast and Algeria. The good thing about Tunisia is that they're decent enough side, but struggle to score (similar to Ecuador, though they're a better side on the whole I think). Paraguay is well coached and defensively sound, but IMO nothing special. They lost to Panama and Costa Rica in 2024. And as someone who follows Scotland fairly closely, I think the decades of bad fortune they've had was cashed in, in full, during this campaign. I still don't know how they beat Greece at Hampden. I can't believe Denmark couldn't beat Belarus at home, and then the final match... Scotland have some quality in the side and they'll give it a good go. But no one should be afraid of Scotland IMO.
I think theprof is 100% on the money with his assessment.
Appreciate the in-depth reply – for all that it's going to be wasted energy come tomorrow morning, here's a bit more of the thinking behind my ordering
Mexico: The most important factor here for me is that drawing Mexico means playing them at the Azteca, which is the single most intimidating combination of venue and opponent possible. That's followed by the fact that the All Whites have played Mexico so often in their modern era and apart from the first half at the Confederations Cup in 2017 they have been relentlessly under the pump throughout those matches. The current All Whites crop will especially have bad memories of being blitzed last year in LA in their worst outing this cycle. And while Mexico may be on a four-draw, two-loss run, that's against teams of a vastly different level to New Zealand. From the All Whites' POV, there would be a sense of 'nothing to lose, everything to gain' playing any of those seven European giants, as silly as that might seem, which wouldn't be there against Mexico.
Portugal: Ranking the 10 non-Canada and non-US teams in pot one is a case of splitting hairs, as I wrote. But for me, Portugal being beholden to 41-year-old Ronaldo makes them a high chance for an implosion, though it's close with the Dutch and their lack of star power.
Colombia: Again, giving specific ranks to that big clump of teams in pot two is a hair-splitting exercise. But just as they will have bad memories of playing Mexico, the All Whites will have (mostly) good memories of playing Colombia (apart from the way they conceded the winner) and that means they get bumped up slightly.
Pot three: Funnily enough, the last change I made was to move Paraguay and Scotland from before the clump of four African teams to after them, but I think the lived experiences against Tunisia/Egypt/Ivory Coast would count for a lot in the minds of the players, even if Scotland are clearly the weakest of the five pot two/three European teams. Apart from Norway, as I think I wrote, the All Whites won't be afraid of anyone in pot three. Given what happened last time with Qatar, I think they would come into a rematch with an extra edge that makes South Africa the team New Zealand would prefer.
I am really excited for the draw, but even the North American athletes involved are all MAGA. It's going to be a rough watch. I suspect my tolerance for Kevin Hart will have been breached inside of 15 minutes. It will be at least an hour of nonsense and propaganda before they draw anything.... And then we get the Village People playing YMCA to close.
Interested to hear which ones are wild
Well considering that Mexico is winless in six, just lost to Paraguay at home and couldn't score against an Uruguay side that shipped four first-half goals to the U.S.... saying that you'd rather play England or Portugal than Mexico... is an interesting opinion. Especially since you can't get Curacao or Haiti. If you could get a bad CONCACAF pot 4 team, I can see the case for missing the hosts in Pot 1. I suppose if it's from a purely "I'd rather not play Mexico again" perspective, but I would absolutely be focused on who might be the easiest side to get a result off of. I would rather play almost any Pot 1 team ahead of Portugal. I wouldn't fancy playing England much either.
In Pot 2, I think Senegal and Colombia could be the darkhorses to make a really deep run in the tournament. For me they might be the two best non-Pot 1 teams. The Swiss are good, Morocco should be good, Uruguay is a mess, but if they fire Bielsa they could be great... Croatia is so old. I'd never bet against them in a World Cup, but I honestly think the Swiss are a better side than Croatia. But here, Colombia is 100% the team I would least want to face. It's not close. And credit to you for your performance which maybe leads to them seeming less daunting. I'd rather play Brazil right now, than Colombia. Put it that way.
I would absolutely have Qatar as the weakest team in Pot 3. South Africa is probably 2. We'll see what Panama we get in the tournament, but I wouldn't have them second, probably fourth or fifth after KSA and maybe the Uzbeks, but I think the Uzbeks are a little under-rated, but still not one of the stronger pot 3 teams. But Scotland and Paraguay? I'd fancy both of those for you ahead of a lot of these teams, certainly much more than Egypt, Ivory Coast and Algeria. The good thing about Tunisia is that they're decent enough side, but struggle to score (similar to Ecuador, though they're a better side on the whole I think). Paraguay is well coached and defensively sound, but IMO nothing special. They lost to Panama and Costa Rica in 2024. And as someone who follows Scotland fairly closely, I think the decades of bad fortune they've had was cashed in, in full, during this campaign. I still don't know how they beat Greece at Hampden. I can't believe Denmark couldn't beat Belarus at home, and then the final match... Scotland have some quality in the side and they'll give it a good go. But no one should be afraid of Scotland IMO.
I think theprof is 100% on the money with his assessment.
Appreciate the in-depth reply – for all that it's going to be wasted energy come tomorrow morning, here's a bit more of the thinking behind my ordering
Mexico: The most important factor here for me is that drawing Mexico means playing them at the Azteca, which is the single most intimidating combination of venue and opponent possible. That's followed by the fact that the All Whites have played Mexico so often in their modern era and apart from the first half at the Confederations Cup in 2017 they have been relentlessly under the pump throughout those matches. The current All Whites crop will especially have bad memories of being blitzed last year in LA in their worst outing this cycle. And while Mexico may be on a four-draw, two-loss run, that's against teams of a vastly different level to New Zealand. From the All Whites' POV, there would be a sense of 'nothing to lose, everything to gain' playing any of those seven European giants, as silly as that might seem, which wouldn't be there against Mexico.
Portugal: Ranking the 10 non-Canada and non-US teams in pot one is a case of splitting hairs, as I wrote. But for me, Portugal being beholden to 41-year-old Ronaldo makes them a high chance for an implosion, though it's close with the Dutch and their lack of star power.
Colombia: Again, giving specific ranks to that big clump of teams in pot two is a hair-splitting exercise. But just as they will have bad memories of playing Mexico, the All Whites will have (mostly) good memories of playing Colombia (apart from the way they conceded the winner) and that means they get bumped up slightly.
Pot three: Funnily enough, the last change I made was to move Paraguay and Scotland from before the clump of four African teams to after them, but I think the lived experiences against Tunisia/Egypt/Ivory Coast would count for a lot in the minds of the players, even if Scotland are clearly the weakest of the five pot two/three European teams. Apart from Norway, as I think I wrote, the All Whites won't be afraid of anyone in pot three. Given what happened last time with Qatar, I think they would come into a rematch with an extra edge that makes South Africa the team New Zealand would prefer.
I didn't appreciate that it was your article I was commenting on. Thanks for taking the feedback in a good spirit and replying.
The Azteca is not a place I relish playing and is surely the largest home pitch advantage of the hosts, but it's a double-edged sword. Raul Jimenez had a go at the supporters after they shouted slurs at their own keeper, chanted 'fire Vasco' and booed the team off the pitch. I think Portugal is miles better when Ronaldo isn't on the pitch (the irony of FIFA bending over to allow him to play, it may actually hurt Portugal). Will they do the right thing for the team? We shall see. I still think they have so much talent and balance. I hear you about the potential for it to go wrong for them, but I think that's more likely for Mexico or Uruguay at this stage of things.
I think a team could well face Colombia in front of 60-70,000 Colombians. And anyone who does is more likely to see the team that put six past Venezuela (weeks before Venezuela beat Australia) or the Colombia that beat a full-strength U.S. 5-1. I would want not want to face Colombia in this tournament.
All that said different people from different places will have different perspectives on how the sides in each pot stack up and there are always going to be surprises. So I appreciate your take - even if I don't agree with some of it. :)
While a non-Japan Asian team in preferable in Pot 2, I think if we don't get that, I would rather draw Qatar/Saudi/Uzbekistan from Pot 3 than Panama or South Africa. The standard in Africa is excellent and SA qualified automatically despite a points deduction, Panama have been a rising force in CONCACAF for a while and beaten good teams like and will be motivated to bag a first win at the World Cup on this attempt. They didn't lose a game in qualifiers and have beaten the likes of USA, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Jamaica a bunch of times in recent years.
Unless Fifa are paying seven business class tickets and all expenses, that’s probably around five too many.
Already spending the financial windfall on jobs for the boys
Can just imagine the debrief afterwards.
“I had a good long chat to a Brazilian guy and he said we will need to play you at your place some time”
Someone else had the same conversation with an Argentinian guy
Conclusion - Roaring success of a trip and met the cost benefit analysis
According to Baze, post the draw, it's a serious of FIFA meetings then off to check out venues, training bases etc etc.
Don't think it's excessive for 7 backroom staff to have a good look at all the host city facilities before the AWs arrive next May/June.
"Proper Prep Prevents Piss Poor Performance". Hopefully it's all on Infantino's gold Amex.
Hopefully gone are the days like in 2010 when Nellie had to fire a massive broadside at NZ Soccer's CEO at the time. That to get the the professional resources the team deserved in the lead up to South Africa. NZ Soccer still very amateurly run back then.
Infantino is just another Sep Blatter. He has set up FIFA's head office for The World Cup in Trump Tower and now we have Football organisation awarding a peace prize to a wanna be dictator.
Turned the sound down shark can she sound anymore condescending with her constant "your doing a great job" FFS all they are doing is opening a friggen ball then reading from script
