The Phoenix have a game against Melbourne Victory the night before and club owner Terry Serepisos has insisted that his head coach put the needs of the club ahead of wining and dining with the big wigs of world football.

Ricki has agreed that he likes receiving a pay-check each week and would like to continue to do so. The NZFC has conceded that they are disappointed that NZ will be the only country whose head coach is not at the draw, but Terry is pretty scary and they don’t want to upset him any more than absolutely necessary.

There is probably very little value in Herbert attending the draw, apart from being able to check out the stadiums the All Whites will be playing in, the training facilities they’ll be training in and the hotels they’ll be celebrating their glorious victories in, but this does highlight a the major problem for the All Whites going forward. The NZ National team don’t play enough games often enough for them to be able to pay a full time head coach. The Phoenix do pay a full time head coach, and expect him to work full time trying to turn the Phoenix into the Manchester United of the South Pacific.

I don’t know what the solution is, but I hope somebody within the NZFC is trying to think of one.

Terry Serepisos

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The All Whites completed the task that was set out before them by FIFA – Win Oceania, then beat the 5th ranked Asian team. Okay, so maybe Oceania is the weakest confederation in football, but that in itself is a difficult hurdle to overcome. It is difficult to get the likes of Ryan Nelsen to make the trip from the UK to Suva for an inevitable victory. Meaning the only time we have a full squad, actually playing together is when we prepare for the playoff vs Asia.

There’s more to it than just the poor preparation the OFC provides. The reason Saturdays game attracted the largest ever football crowd in NZ History is because we don’t get any big games. England, Brazil and Italy are hardly clamoring for a match in Wellington. The past biggest crowd was to see the Phoenix vs LA Galaxy, and we had to pay LA to come here! All this means low/no gate receipts for the NZFC, little to no media interest

The simple answer to the problem is that NZ should join Asia. But then what becomes of the OFC? Should they not be allowed to play football in Fiji? Are New Caledonians to be forsaken because it upsets the Croatians? Also one simple fact I’m sure no one has noticed is – New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa etc… are not from Asia! It may suit the Aussies to sell out their Pacific brothers in the quest for the glory, experience and of course pots of cash and full stadiums that Asia has to offer, but to call New Zealand an Asian country is probably one stretch to far. Also, if Asia’s 5th placed side is so bad that lowly New Zealand can beat them then maybe we would find the competition unsatisfying in such a poor confederation. South Americas close? Will they take us?

To put things in persepctive, this is only the second time since the All Whites first visit to the WC in 1982 that the OFC has been represented, the other time being Australia in 06. The Aussies qualified through exactly the same route then and nobody seemed to mind, of course they had to beat us to get to their playoff match, so I guess thats a tough enough competition.

The World Cup is just that, a World Cup. Not Europe vs South America. Qualification is already heavily weighted towards the superpowers of football (as it should be) and Oceania is given just half a spot there. It sucks for Ireland, Bosnia, Croatia, Canada and all the others who may feel they are more deserving, but it’s the way it is.

We have a saying in this country that might help you all get through this – Harden Up.

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The Kiwis showed loads of Kiwi grit and determination withstanding a fast starting Bahrain side before gradually asserting some dominance in the midfield that allowed them to begin to return fire.

The All Whites took the lead courtesy of a Rory Fallon header on the cusp of half time:

Bharain had thier chances though:

Mark Paston saving this penalty just after half time –

And just as time was running out, conceding a free kick with the equalizer tantalizingly close:

But in the end, the All Whites hung in there, to cement their spot at the World Cup, and start the biggest party Wellington has seen in a long time.

The All Whites have indicated that they will go into the match using the same 3-4-3 formation that they played in the first leg in Manama, allowing them to play Rory Fallon, Chris Killen and Shane Smeltz upfront in the quest for the goal that will take them to South Africa.

On the injury front, Simon Elliot is looking a doubtful starter and will most likely be replace by Central Coast Mariners midfielder Michael McGlinchey.

The Bahrain team who arrived on Thursday from Sydney are being touted as the favourites by the majority of the media. They have a small group of supporters in tow, as well as local ex-pats from the various Gulf States who would love to see the boys in red spoil the party in Courtnay Place tonight. Their task is simpler than the All Whites, they just need at least one goal and to not lose and they will be through to the World Cup. Their coach coach Milan Macala seemed relaxed at a press conference last night, and evn joked that the Kiwis should let them win – “Because you played in Spain in 1982, I hope you give us a turn this time.”

The TAB still rates the NZ side as slight favorites paying $2.40 for the win with Bahrain paying $2.70.

The mood about Wellington at the moment is one of nervous anticipation. Local Churches, Cathedrals, Mosques and Synagogues are full of the All Whites faithful trying to help the guys anyway they can.

I for one really hope the All Whites can do it tonight. Not much fun writing a New Zealand World Cup blog if we’re not at the World Cup!

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All Whites captain, star defender and potentially New Zealand’s next Prime Minister (pending World Cup Qualifier result), has described the possible rewards of Saturdays game against Bahrain (qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa) as “Bigger than an Olympic 100m Final”‘ and “absolutely the pinnacle of sport” – So, no pressure then Ryan?

“Obviously there’s pressure in the game, there’s a lot riding on it, I think it’s important this week that we focus on the little things and doing what we do well. It’s important we don’t get carried away with the emotion of the event.”

For more quality quotes like that, purchase a copy of my book:
101 Unoriginal Things to Say at a Press Conference Before Big Sporting Events – Vol. 1

Ryan Nelsen fronted a 30 strong media scrum yesterday, which was described as more akin to an All Blacks press confrence than what is usually expected by the NZFC. (In other words, people actually showed up, asked questions other than ’so… what is your name?’)

Watch the bits that the NZ Herald considered worthy here:

Ryan Nelsen and the rest of the overseas All Whites will arrive in Wellington today having just doubled his career goal scoring tally for Blackburn by scoring against Portsmouth. They will join the New Zealand based players tomorrow for a training session in the afternoon.

The Phoenix came from behind to score a 1-1 draw at ‘The Stadium’ against the Perth Glory yesterday afternoon, but most importantly none of the Phoenix’s All Whites players injured themselves in any way. In fact, the entire squad have been declared fit and ready to go. That is despite slight injury concerns over Simon Elliott’s leg, Michael McGlinchey’s ankle and Mark Paston’s hip.

Bahrain have warmed up with a convincing 5-1 win against world football powerhouses Togo and will acclimatise to the cold, windy Wellington conditions by staying in warm, sunny Sydney all week. Midfielder Sayed Mahmood Jalal is recovering from a knock he received in the friendly encounter, and is expected to make a fully fit in time for the big game. Their 22 man squad and 22 person support team (including a Chef and their Accountant) are expected to arrive in the capital on Thursday.

This morning at the NZ T.A.B the Kiwis are currently paying $2.40 while Bahrain are at $2.70, a slight change from last month when they had the Bahrainians favorites to book a spot in South Africa.

NZ Football has gained special permission from FIFA to install 500 extra seats for the match (tickets to which sold out in just minutes) and the All Whites are guaranteed to run out in front of the biggest crowd in NZ Football history. (And maybe the NZFC might just be regretting not playing the game at a larger capacity Stadium)

Righto, got that sorted? Are you wearing black and/or white? A NZ Flag or Silver Fern displayed prominently somewhere about your person? Good, lets go then…

The next 10 days will without a doubt be the most important 10 days in the entire history of New Zealand Football.

And it starts tonight.

Wellington Phoenix vs Newcastle Jets – A-League
The Cake Tin, Tonight

Newcastle are rubbish, the deserve dead last. The Phoenix currently sit uncomfortably on the same points as them. A win would lift the Nix up to 6th spot, a loss and Terry Serepisos might get some early practice in his role as head of the NZ version of the apprentice. Will it be time to say those imortal words “You’re Fired” or will the Phoenix stand up and prove that they really are play-off contenders this year?

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Junior All Whites vs Nigeria – U-17 World Cup
Abuja National Stadium, Friday Morning

It is easy to think that our U-17 side has already done as much as they needed to in this tournament simply by getting past the first round, but the reality is that they have only just begun. This match against Nigeria could mark a turning point in NZ Football. Beat the host nation in front of 60,000 people in the final 16 of a FIFA world Cup and maybe New Zealand might start to believe that they really do deserve to win at football. Anything can happen, if the Kiwis can stand up in this match and steal a win, who knows where it could lead them.

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All Whites vs Bahrain – World Cup Qualifier 2nd Leg
The Cake Tin – Saturday 14th November

This match has been hailed as the one shot for glory for our national side. The equation is simple. Win = World Cup Spot, Anything else = Nothing. The country are ready for this, it has been too long since we were last allowed to play with the big boys at the world cup. The memories of 1982 are fading. The rise of the Australians has left an unpleasant feeling in the pit of the stomach of one-eyed NZ sports fans.

A win in this match could shape the future of NZ Footbal. As the song says:
“It’s time to stand up and be counted…”

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A win in all three of these games could catapult NZ Football to the forefront of NZ sporting interest. It’s not impossible to imagine the sports news on TVNZ leading with a story about the All Whites ahead of one about the All Blacks… one day.

Many thanks to the Feelers for setting the patriotic mood

Trailing 1-0 to Turkey with only injury time left to play, the Junior All Whites world cup dream seemed to be fading fast. That was until this moment:

Midfielder Hobson-McVeigh’s 35m shot sent NZ through to the final 16, and a showdown with either Switzerland or tournament hosts Nigeria.

Regardless of who the Junior All Whites play in their next match, they will need to score more goals that the opposition – something they have not achieved yet in this tournament. Three games, three 1-All draws. Although it could have been worse, in all three games the Kiwis have been forced to weather sustained attacks from their opposition. Turkey had 22 shots to NZ’s 7, Burkina Faso dominated with 28 shots to 2 and Costa Rica took 22 to the Kiwis 9. When asked about the huge difference in shots taken between NZ and it’s opposition so far, coach Steven Cain was unconcerned:

“I’m not too surprised at that, in all the games here the opposition have fired in plenty of shots but they have been all over the place. I feel we have succeeded for two reasons. One, we have made very few mistakes and two, we have taken our chances when they have come.”

Whatever happens next, this side is already assured their place in NZ sporting folklore all thats left now is to win a couple of matches and pick up our trophy.

The Africans had it all their own way in the first half, raining down shot after shot on the desperate Junior All Whites defence, Victor Nikiema scoring for Burkina Faso after just 12 minutes with a thunderous shot past the NZ goalkeeper.

While the Burkina Faso side were like a tornado roaring up and down the pitch, the Kiwis could muster little more than a zephyr of resistance in the first half, and were lucky to only be down by 1 at the break. However, like a ray of sun shining through the clouds, the NZ side clawed thier way back in the second half courtesy of captain Gordon Murie’s lightening like header (that was also the sides only shot on goal for the whole match) off a Zane Sole free kick.

Not long after that goal the sides were forced from the field as a massive downpour had flooded the ground making the ball virtually unplayable. When they returned 100+ minutes later the game more or less descended into farce, with both sides struggling to stay on their feet in the atrocious conditions. Burkina Faso had their chances to seal the victory but the Junior All Whites bravely held them out like sandbags against rising flood waters.

The draw lifts the NZ side to second in their group on 2 points, and they only need to beat Turkey in their final match to be assured of a spot in the next round…

How hard can that be?

This is not that day.

But the current NZ Men’s U-17 side could take a huge step towards raising the expectations of a nation if they could get a victory against Burkina Faso at the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria tomorrow.

Victory against the small landlocked African nation (yes I had to look it up on Wikipedia) when added with their 1-1 draw against Costa Rico earlier in the competition, would equal the best ever result by a Kiwi side – any age group men’s or women’s in a FIFA World Cup. (The NZ Women’s U-20 side also achieved one win and a draw in Chile last year.)

However, it won’t be easy, as coach Steve Cain points out:

” We’ve never beaten an African team in Africa and playing at 4pm in 30 degrees and with 95 per cent humidity will be difficult”

The good news is difficult is what Kiwi football teams do best, and if the boys can squeeze past Burkina Faso then maybe, just maybe a place in the second round could be within their grasp and they might just be able to lift a giant monkey off the backs off all NZ Representative Footballers.

NZ vs Burkina Faso is on Sky Sports One at 3:45am Thursday Morning.