Chris Wood leads All Whites to biggest win in 20 years in World Cup qualifier against Vanuatu
Friday, 15 November 2024
At Stadium Waikato: All Whites 8 (Matt Garbett 11’, Chris Wood 23’ 24’, Tyler Bindon 32’ Own Goal (Brian Kaltak 38’), Elijah Just 74’, Sarpreet Singh 82’, Callum McCowatt 89’) Vanuatu 1 (Jordy Tasip 17’). HT: 5-1
Chris Wood led the All Whites in every way possible on Friday night, as they moved within two wins of a return to the World Cup after 16 years away.
The English Premier League striker was literally the captain as they beat Vanuatu 8-1 in front of a 10,113-strong crowd at Stadium Waikato in Hamilton – the city where he first made a name for himself as a schoolboy.
When his side surprisingly found themselves back level after 17 minutes, six minutes after taking the lead for the first time, it was Wood who rallied them, urging his team-mates to “raise it just 5% more” after a sluggish start.
Vanuatu had scored in flukish fashion when Jordy Tasip rode a challenge from Liberato Cacace then sent in a cross from the right that looped over goalkeeper Max Crocombe into the far side of the net.
It was Wood who scored the next two goals, heading home a Cacace corner to put the All Whites back in front in the 23rd minute, then meeting a Matt Garbett cross with his head, then his foot to double their buffer just 72 seconds later, taking his international tally to 38 from 79 matches.
And while he was disappointed to miss out on a hat-trick when he was replaced with 15 minutes to play, it was Wood who set the example for his team-mates with regard to fan engagement, immediately starting to sign autographs for dozens of young fans.
Since the start of his English Premier League season with Nottingham Forest, Wood has now scored four goals in five matches for his country to go with the eight in 11 he has scored for his club on the way to being crowned as the competition’s player of the month in October.
“There were a lot of congratulations about the month I've had both on and off the pitch,” Wood said of his interactions with the crowd. “It's just fantastic to see. That's what we want to be back in New Zealand for. We want to connect with fans, we want to connect with the people – we want to do as much as we can.”
The All Whites’ seven-goal win was their largest since they beat Tahiti 10-0 at the 2004 Oceania Nations Cup in Adelaide, just two days after suffering a shock loss to Vanuatu, as it happens.
It was therefore the biggest they have managed against Oceania opposition since Australia left the region and moved to Asia in 2006, leaving New Zealand as the big fish.
The All Whites still have one more group B match to go, against Samoa at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland on Monday night, but are already assured of a place in March’s World Cup qualifying semifinals.
They will be joined in Wellington at the end of that month by New Caledonia and either Fiji or Papua New Guinea from group A and either Tahiti or Vanuatu from group B, depending on the result in their head-to-head clash in the first match of the doubleheader in Auckland on Monday.
While Wood was the centre of attention in Hamilton on Friday, player of the match honours went to Garbett, who also set up goals for centre back Tyler Bindon and substitute Sarpreet Singh in addition to opening the scoring himself, with a swerving shot from the edge of the box.
Bindon’s goal made it 4-1 just after the half-hour mark, while he headed the ball into Vanuatu centre back Brian Kaltak for the own goal that made it 5-1 to the hosts at halftime.
Elijah Just scored the All Whites’ sixth with a strong finish into the bottom-left corner in the 74th minute, before Singh made it 7-1, meeting Garbett’s cross from the left with his first touch in the 82nd.
Callum McCowatt rounded out the scoring by sliding in to meet a left-to-right cross from Singh in the 89th minute, as the All Whites’ bettered the 7-1 World Cup qualifying win over New Caledonia in Qatar in 2022 that had previously been their biggest in the last two decades.