Why Chris Wood believes the All Whites can shine at Fifa World Cup

By Michael Burgess

Chris Wood believes the All Whites are capable of something “very special” at next year’s Fifa World Cup.

The team completed their mission on Monday night – after a tense but ultimately emphatic 3-0 win over New Caledonia – to seal qualification to the global showpiece.

Now focus will gradually turn to their assignment at the 48-team event in North America, back among the big guns of world football. While there is a lot of work to do, Wood has no doubt the New Zealand team could achieve their stretch goal of qualifying for the knockout stages.

“We have been building towards these moments,” Wood told the Herald. “We still have to play extremely well, be very football savvy and maybe have a bit of luck with the draw we get but I don’t see why not. We’ve got a great squad and we’ve got to go in there with the belief of doing something special. The stage is set to achieve something great out there and we want to go one better than the 2010 team.”

But that’s the future. For now it about celebrating the moment and for Wood it was impossible to hide the elation. The All Whites striker hadn’t slept much – after team and family festivities, then an early call for media commitments on Tuesday morning – but it didn’t matter.

“It’s just pure joy - it’s been a long time coming,” said Wood. “[We’ve been] wanting to get back here for a long, long time.”

It meant even more to Wood, as the only player who had been part of the last four qualification attempts since 2009, especially the pain of Peru (2017) and Costa Rica (2022).

“Look, you go through the lows to enjoy the highs,” Wood said. “I started off with a high in 2010. I had to suffer a few lows in the meantime, but it’s just fantastic now.”

However, it was a bittersweet night for Wood, who had to suffer the torment of coming off injured on such a big occasion. The striker landed heavily on his hip attempting a shot early in the second half and after trying to continue, was replaced in the 54th minute.

“Of course I wanted to stay on, do my part and lead this team to hopefully something great,” Wood said. “I wanted to be a part of it for the whole thing but football’s not meant to be sometimes.”

With the game in the balance at 0-0, the sight of Wood limping off sent shockwaves through the crowd – and was also jarring for his teammates.

“I’ll be honest, I was thinking, ‘Oh no, here we go’,” young defender Tyler Bindon said. “But I had faith in my teammates.”

In the dugout, coach Darren Bazeley was also wondering if it was an omen.

“[You do] go, okay, surely not one of those nights,” Bazeley admitted.

But Michael Boxall’s 61st minute goal offered a breakthrough – before Wood’s replacement – Kosta Barbarouses – settled any nerves with the second five minutes later.

“When Kosta went on, I said to him, ‘mate, you’ve scored 100 goals in the A-League. We need to go on and get one',” recalled Bazeley.

Wood was watching on from the bench, thrilled for his teammate.

“It played out perfectly – Kosta did extremely well.”

On Tuesday morning Wood was unsure of the severity of the injury, awaiting results of scans.

“It is what it is – I landed on it funny," he said. “We’ll just have to wait and see – there is no point presuming anything”.

However, the Herald understands the initial prognosis is fairly positive, with the hope he won’t be out of action for an extended period.

Aside from the injury, it was a special day for Wood, starting from the walkout, with teammate Tommy Smith’s kids as mascots. It made for an unusual sight, as Wood cradled Smith’s daughter Molly, 2, in his arms during the anthems, with son Keegan, 4, holding his hand.

“It was lovely to be able to share that moment with my adopted nieces and nephews,” said Wood, who also had a lot of his family at Eden Park.

“I told him - you could put her down,” laughed Smith.

Wood paid tribute to New Caledonia, whose tenacity and technique added so much to the occasion.

“They were more than what we thought they were going to be, so all credit to them,” Wood said.

“The luck didn’t bounce for us in the first half, a couple cleared off the line, hit the post. On another day, one or two of those go in and it’s a completely different game. But all credit to the boys, they stuck to it and showed their dominance in the second half.”

As the All Whites team gathered in a huddle after the match, Wood had a special message to pass on.

“I told them ‘Enjoy this moment’,” Wood said. “In my career it didn’t come around much. It’s only the second time in our generation. It’s not easy getting to a World Cup. Yes, we’ve got an easier way going forward, but it’s still never a guarantee.”

Wood started his long journey back to England on Tuesday night, as his club Nottingham Forest continue their race for a Champions League spot.

“The fans will go over the moon with that and something that we can really, really cherish as a team if we’re able to do it”, he said.

Beyond that is another All Whites adventure – 15 years in the making.

“It’s bloody huge to be at a World Cup,” Wood said.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission