Chris Wood's frank admission after All Whites defeat — 'I wasn't a Premier League striker that day'
Tuesday, 10 September 2024
The All Whites play the United States in Cincinnati on Wednesday (NZT).
The match kicks off at 11am and will be broadcast live on FIFA+ with updates here on Stuff.
New Zealand have never beaten the US in senior men’s football.
The All Whites are vowing to put in an improved showing against the United States on Wednesday (NZT), adamant they can compete with a nation ranked inside the top 20 in the world.
Darren Bazeley’s side are desperate to atone after a humbling 3-0 defeat at the hands of Mexico on Sunday.
The result was a reality check for the Oceania champions, who have been able to call on players from three of Europe’s top five leagues and came into the two matches against the 2026 World Cup co-hosts with high hopes.
The loss meant the All Whites have now gone eight matches without a win outside Oceania since beating China 2-1 in Wellington last March.
No one was more disappointed with the performance against Mexico than captain Chris Wood, who revealed “I was not a Premier League striker that day” in a frank post-match assessment.
The All Whites never recovered after conceding inside the first five minutes, producing just two shots in 90 minutes, none of which were on target.
“I didn’t turn up, not to the full capability of what I can show,” Wood said.
“We all need to raise our game and that’s what it is about tomorrow [Wednesday].
“I have full belief in this team to create chances. The other night was an anomaly, or at least we will make sure it is.
“In other games we’ve created more chances and had better showings but we need to do that on bigger occasions against the better teams we’re coming up against.”
Ranked one place higher than Mexico at No. 16 in the world, the US will provide another big test but Wood felt the All Whites were getting them at a good time.
The opposition are without a permanent head coach as they hold out for former Chelsea and Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, and they are coming off their first defeat to Canada on home soil since 1957.
The All Whites have failed to beat the US in three attempts but their last match in 2016 ended in a 1-1 draw after Monty Patterson snatched a 72nd minute equaliser.
Wednesday’s match will be New Zealand’s last outing before their focus shifts to Oceania World Cup qualifying in October.
“We can take confidence that they’re not fully hitting their stride at the same time, they’re going through a transitional period as well,” Wood said.
“But ultimately we need to focus on ourselves and make sure we do what we can right and better than the other day or else we’ll get steamrolled again.”