FOOTBALL IS COMING HOME » New Zealand

Pot Observations

David Patrick Lane — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:38:38 +0000

TEN POT OBSERVATIONS.

1. FIFA got the seedings right. Pot 1 seeds earned their ranking. France did not. France’s final appearance was four years ago.

2. Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay have come out of the pot alignment better than most. Each of the smaller South American nations will avoid the big five African qualifiers in the 1st Round.

3. Argentina and Brazil cannot avoid the African qualifiers from Pot 3. The seeds for two potential Groups of Death have now been sown. Has FIFA put Brazil at risk for an early bath?

4. The most frightening Group of Death would be: Brazil, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire and Portugal.

5. The dark horse of Pot 2 is Honduras.

6. The tournament’s top scorer will probably find his country drawn against New Zealand in the 1st Round.

7. Slovenia will not be the dark horse of Pot 4. Slovakia might be.

8. South Africa need the luck of the draw more than most. The hosts will hope to be grouped with both New Zealand and Slovenia. So will every other team from Pots 1 and 3, for that matter.

9. Algeria could draw both France and Germany. The Desert Foxes will appreciate the luck of being thrown into that particular garlic and beer feed chicken coop.

10. Italy could renew some old acquaintances. North Korea can beat Italy, again. And Chile can beat Italy up, again.

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All Whites Haka

David Patrick Lane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:43:31 +0000

Will we see an All Whites Haka? The World Cup will be richer for the experience.

I had been keen on seeing Bahrain qualify. Bahrain were the sort of quick counter-attacking outfit capable of the odd 3-2 upset.

New Zealand inspire less confidence as Giant Killers. But who knows? A Haka just before kick-off might be worth a buried chicken or two.

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Pinned in their Own Half

David Patrick Lane — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:33:12 +0000

Belated respect to the All Whites. New Zealand represent!

Bahrain’s unexpected defeat leaves the Arab World with only one representative in South Africa. Sayef Mohammed Adnan’s penalty miss in Wellington will have done more than just dampen the spirits on the Emir’s beach. It invites a significant Arab cultural deficit extending well beyond Bahrain.

This may well go unnoticed or be easily forgotten by Arab scholars and Arab media busy with grim development statistics and wars or captivated by ceremonial comings and goings and fashionable American and European diplomats and stars. It should not.

I accept it is difficult to consider the importance of football in the context of the harsher social, economic and environmental realities that dog the Arab World: Desertification. The highest birth rates in the world. High unemployment. 30% Illiteracy. Unrepresentative political systems. Over reliance on oil. Violations of women’s rights. But football does provide confidence and pride in ways social scientists and economists cannot measure. Ask a Brazilian.

The Arab World is pinned in it’s own half.

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All White Experience?

David Patrick Lane — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:51:28 +0000

While Omar and his boys from Bahrain were shooting down the Saudis in the Kingdom, New Zealand were in that other Kingdom kicking it with the Hashemites. It was an experience. New Zealand won the friendly 3-1. The Hashemites ain’t got game no mo’.

New Zealand fancy their chances now. Former captain, Steve Sumner, interviewed for the Christchurch Press, said Bahrain was their “best and easiet” route to the World Cup finals. Sumner also sees English Premier League experience as important for New Zealand, noting in the same interview, the presence of some hacker from New Zealand in Blackburn Rovers’ squad.

The All Whites would be ill advised to assume that because Bahrain is a small island nation with no Premier League performers the playoff is a sure thing to South Africa.

Bahrain has been hanging with Asia’s biggest cats for the best part of the last decade. Bahrain advanced to the final Asian qualifying group stages for the 2002 World Cup. Bahrain was a Semi Finalist in the 2004 Asian Cup, playing the most adventurous and attack-minded football of the tournament. Ask the Uzbeks. And Bahrain were a disallowed goal from qualification in 2006.

This is the experience that matters. Bahrain has it. New Zealand does not. Ask the Fijians.

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Stain on the All White Shirt

David Patrick Lane — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 07:43:42 +0000

New Zealand did not have it all the own way in the Oceania qualifiers. The Fiji “general public” had been demanding a good result.

Roy Krishna, the Lad from Lambasa, obliged with two goals. (If only Roy’s grandmother had been born in Kilmarnock…Scotland could have been coming down the road.)

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