Share this article
Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.
Chris Wood says NZ Football can't let a thriving All Whites team lose momentum. Photo / Photosport
Chris Wood can’t wait to return to New Zealand again – but hopes that future visits will be under different circumstances.
The All Whites’ striker flew out on Monday afternoon, back to English Premier League
Sunday’s match against Australia was a bitter personal disappointment, as he left the field in the 32nd minute with a rib injury.
It wasn’t the way his first match in New Zealand since 2017 was supposed to go, but the time on home soil was a wonderful experience nonetheless.
Like the rest of the squad, Wood was blown away by the 34,985 crowd at Eden Park and showed his professionalism by spending the entire halftime break signing autographs, despite his devastation at being sidelined.
The 30-year-old was also thrilled by Saturday’s official public welcome at the Aotea Centre, where they were besieged by fans.
“It’s been fantastic,” said Wood. “It’s the best feeling in the world. I love coming home. I love just being in this country. It’s my safe place and everything like that. And to be able to reconnect with the fans is fantastic, especially after five years of being away from them.”
But Wood wants such visits to be a regular occurrence, rather than a novelty event, to build a stronger connection with the local game.
“We want to be playing in front of them more often, interacting with them more often,” said Wood. “Getting to see the kids, get into the grassroot games, get into club football, broaden the horizon of 10-year-old kids that want to play football.”
But more importantly, Wood wants to see a proper high performance plan and vision for the All Whites, especially around the scheduling of games, rather than the ad hoc process that has defined the past cycle.
As well as expressing his bemusement around the future of coach Danny Hay – who remains in limbo – Wood says the next World Cup cycle has to be attacked in a different way.
“In the last three, it’s been the same process over and over,” said Wood. “Something needs to change – you need to break the chain, break the habit and do something different to what you’ve done before. Only a fool does the same thing over and over expecting different results.”
Wood’s frustration stems from the uncertainty around future All Whites games.
New Zealand Football has already ruled out November action, despite the pre-World Cup window being a prime opportunity to get matches against high quality opposition, and nothing has been scheduled for March.
The impending departure of NZF high performance manager Gareth Jennings, resigning after a year in the role, hasn’t helped, while the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup is an overwhelming focus for NZF.
Traditionally the All Whites have gone into semi-hibernation in the first year of a new World Cup cycle – partly to save money – and the prospect of an easier route to the 2026 tournament (with direct qualification from Oceania) might tempt NZF to follow the same approach, but Wood said that would be a big mistake.
“You might be able to get there easier, but you need to be able to compete there and do something there,” said Wood. “We don’t want to just turn up and be a number. We want to go and compete. So if we don’t invest into the team now, invest into the players and the coaching staff, what’s the point?”
Wood said they can’t afford to lose momentum.
While Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Australia was a setback, it wouldn’t take the gloss off what has been achieved over the last 18 months and he said that the potential of the current group could see them one day surpass the achievements of the famed 1982 and 2010 teams.
“The style of football that we’re playing now is so different from what I’ve ever played for the national team,” said Wood. “And that excites me, as a 30-year-old getting excited about playing football again is fantastic. Everybody wants to see your team playing good football and then delivering on the pitch.
“Ultimately, we’re 12 months into a process. We’re not going to have it perfect. But in three years’ time, I can back my side, my team and this staff, that if we stick together, we will be putting performances out there that wins games and in good style.”
Coach Danny Hay said it was up to NZF to “actively” seek more games against better quality opposition, after the series against world No 39 Australia.
“We got to play against a team [ranked] in the 30s and that’s only happened a couple of times in the last four years for this group of players,” said Hay. “We need that challenge on a regular basis if we’re really going to evolve. That ultimately comes down to the organisation and their desire to genuinely make that happen; not talk about it but actually make it happen.”
Share this article
Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.