New Zealand
In New Zealand, soccer is not the favorite sport, but this is the second time that the island nation has qualified for the World Cup finals. The New Zealand team is known as the All Whites, which is contrast to their rugby team the All Blacks. The New Zealanders qualified for the World Cup with ease having beaten the 5th place team in the Asian zone.
The All Whites greatest strength is their brute force. This team is extremely strong and will try to muscle out any team that they come in contact with. They will not let the fact that this is only their second World Cup appearance change the way they play.
The New Zealand team definitely lacks technical skills. A team with good ball handling skills will be able to run circles around the All Whites.
The best-known player on the All Whites is Ryan Nelsen. He is an excellent defender that has had a long stay in the English Premiere league. Another attacker to look out for is Chris Killen. An up and coming attacker to also look out for is Shane Smeltz, who was voted Oceania Player of the year.
New Zealand will be lucky if they make it to the Knock Out round. The game to watch will be against Slovakia. Both these teams lack World Cup experience, but are willing to put up a serious fight. Even though New Zealand is not expected to make it far, the experience they will gain will help them in 2014.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.