New Zealand (8/1 to qualify from Group F) are going to face a tough battle at this summer’s World Cup and their chances are not going to be helped by the lack of match action a number of their stars have seen in recent months.
The All Whites are outsiders for the competition and have been paired in Group F for the competition along with Italy (12/1 to win World Cup 2010 Outright), Paraguay and Slovakia.
While their rivals will be full of players who have been performing regularly in top flights across the globe, the New Zealand A-League season ended in February and many of their squad members will not have played competitive football for many months by the time the World Cup starts in June.
Even some of their star players who play abroad have not been experiencing first team football due to injuries, with Ryan Nelsen and Winston Reid both struggling in recent months to make the first team of their respective clubs.
New Zealand’s last game was a 2-0 defeat to fellow World Cup qualifiers Mexico in Los Angeles near the beginning of April, which has prompted coach Ricki Herbert to arrange a special training camp for his players based in both Australia and New Zealand.
Herbert is not fazed by the challenges which his squad will face and told the New Zealand Herald he does not have “too many concerns” about the fitness of his players going into the World Cup.
“Ideally it would be fantastic if everyone was playing every week and not getting injured. I’m nervous about the ones still playing in Europe because we can’t do without them,” said the coach.
“I know we have some really good lead-in games so the players will be fine by the time they get to the World Cup. It’s not like they haven’t had any activity, they are training every day, so they will be ready. They will be fresh and hungry.”
Herbert added that he reckons there are a few places available in his squad as he has already decided on up to 19 players for his 23-man squad.
One man looking to impress and force his way into the New Zealand (40/1 to win Group F) World Cup squad is amateur player Andy Barron.
The 29-year-old is a banker by day and a midfielder for New Zealand Football Championship team Team Wellington, and is taking time off from his everyday job to take part in Herbert’s training camp.
Barron has played for a number of years for the international side and is likely to be the only amateur footballer at the World Cup 2010, but this has not undeterred him in his ambition to play a major role for New Zealand.
“I don’t want to be there just to make up the 23. I want to be there, getting on the park and playing some of the best teams in the world so I’ll be pushing for that as much as I can,” he stated.
New Zealand kick-off their group games against Slovakia in Rustenburg on June 15th before playing defending champions Italy on June 20th and Paraguay on June 24th.
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