World Cup 2010 Team Spotlight – New Zealand
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The WORLD CUP FINALS had their final draw on Dec 4th, 2009. 32 teams were picked out of their respective pots and we now know the matchups for World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Need predictions for New Zealand?
From the Coach
Analysis from the coach: “This group have given it everything, four years of total commitment. We’re back, we’re there. South Africa, here we come.” New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert
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This will be just the second appearance in the World Cup for the All Whites and their first in 28 years following a debut showing at Spain 1982. New Zealand also has played in three Confederation Cups, but the club has only scored three goals in the nine matches with a record of 0-1-8.
In fact, New Zealand has never won either a Confederations Cup match or a World Cup final match.
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia
FIFA Ranking: 30
Paraguay Odds to win World Cup: +8000
Matchups:
June 14 vs. Italy
June 20 vs. Slovakia
June 24 vs. New Zealand
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The Kiwis will need a magical run if they are to advance to the second round or they might be looking at three losses and a trip home.
Boss Ricki Herbert who is one of New Zealand football’s most-famous figures, and assistant coach Brian Turner, were both members of the 1982 World Cup squad. The 49-year old Herbert was one of the first Kiwis to play in England, which he did with the Wolverhampton Wanderers.
He was also the coach of New Zealand’s only professional club, Wellington Phoenix, who compete in the A-League. Turner played on the international team for 15 years and had a brief one-year stint with the English Premier giant Chelsea in 1967-68.
Together the duo has turned the All Whites into a solid unit after assuming the reins of the national team in 2005.
The All Whites are led by Blackburn central defender, skipper and former D.C. United star Ryan Nelsen, who took charge of the Kiwis’ playoff series against Bahrain, leading the team to two shutouts and a 1-0 aggregate win over the Asians to reach the tournament this summer.
At the other end of the pitch, the Kiwis have a number of key attacking options including Shane Smeltz, the Oceania Player of the Year and Australian A-League top-scorer, Middlesbrough striker Chris Killen, FC Tampa Bay Rowdie midfielder Jeremy Christie, and 18-year old West Bromwich Albion FC striker Chris Wood.
New Zealand took full advantage of Australia’s exodus from the Oceania region comfortably winning their first five matches before succumbing to Fiji with many of the first-team regulars unavailable.
The All Whites then battled Bahrain in a first leg meeting to earn a scoreless draw in Manama, and then knocked them off in the second leg to punch their ticket to South Africa 2010.
The Kiwis are the biggest long shot at grabbing the World Cup title.
This makes them the ideal pick for somebody with a serious debt to pay and only a few months to pay it back.
Seriously, these are by far and away the worst odds of any World Cup squad and judging from their weak qualifying division and their history in international football, I think the trend continues for New Zealand.
The side has never won a World Cup match and it doesn’t appear that will change this summer.
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Matt Martz is a sportswriter for the Bakersfield Californian located in Central California. “ Football (soccer) is a game in which a handful of fit men run around for one and a half hours watched by millions of people who could really use the exercise.”
