Written by Michael Burgess and supported by the NZ Football Foundation
 

“What a rollercoaster ride that was. But at the end of it, you wouldn’t want it any other way.” 
– John Adshead

All Whites vs China
January 10, 1982
Singapore National Stadium

As Grant Turner listened to John Adshead’s final address, tears were welling up in his eyes. The 23-year-old midfielder was sitting inside the dressing room at Singapore National Stadium, minutes away from the biggest match of his life. 

Turner was one of the toughest All Whites to ever don the jersey, but the emotion and magnitude of the occasion had got to him.

“Everyone was intense,” recalls Turner. “There were a few calming words from John Adshead. He said ‘Guys you have come a long way, come around the world. Now it is over to you’. I remember those words. Some of us were crying. It was one hell of a day.” 

It was January 1982, and the All Whites played a match that stopped the football world. That might sound far-fetched, but it’s true. The circumstances were remarkable. After progressing through the first stage of qualifying undefeated – with Australia, Indonesia and Taiwan among those eliminated – the All Whites joined the three other group winners (Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and China) in the second phase.

 

The team lining up again Kuwait in qualifying | Credit Photosport

After a full round of home and away matches, Kuwait were top but the All Whites and China couldn’t be separated in second place, with the same number of wins and points and identical goal difference.

So a playoff would decide the ultimate prize, the last golden ticket to the 1982 FIFA World Cup. The unexpected extra match meant the World Cup draw was postponed. Twenty three nations would have to wait until after the match in Singapore, before their group, opponents and schedule could be confirmed, which added to the theatre of the occasion.

For the All Whites it was one more step on a gruelling journey; after 14 qualifying matches (and only one defeat) they still hadn’t achieved their ‘impossible dream’ of reaching Espana 82.

“We had played China twice and hadn’t lost to them,” says striker Steve Wooddin. “But they were pretty sharp. And there was so much at stake.”

Excitement was building. The squad had a three week training camp in Auckland, while administrators tried to raise the funds needed for the final push. A nationwide appeal was launched, with a staggering $50,000 raised in four days.

“John summed it up by saying, when you go to bed tonight, you will either make history and be playing in the World Cup, or be a team that nearly made it,” 
- Steve Wooddin.  

The squad arrived on Friday evening in Singapore for the Sunday night match, with Adshead electing to maximise the preparation time in New Zealand. But their final build-up was less than ideal. The team were unable to train at the match venue before the game (due to a logistical mix-up by local organisers) and key defender Bobby Almond rolled his ankle in their final practice session.

China had arrived three days earlier. They had some handy players, especially winger Gu Guangming, nicknamed the ‘little drum’, who later became the first Chinese footballer to play in Europe.

At 3:00pm on the Sunday afternoon the All Whites held their final team meeting. Almond was cleared to play, with painkillers, thanks to the efforts of physiotherapist Doug Edwards. 

“He sat all night with him, icing it, while Bobby was nodding off to sleep,” says Adshead. “We gave him a needle in the morning.”

Inside the dressing room, Adshead and assistant coach Kevin Fallon gave their final messages. 

“John summed it up by saying, when you go to bed tonight, you will either make history and be playing in the World Cup, or be a team that nearly made it,” says Wooddin.  “We had a lot of belief. It never crossed my mind that we would get beat.”

As the teams waited in the tunnel, Turner employed some mind games. 

“I was rarking them up, absolutely scaring them to shit,” says Turner. “I remember ‘Buzzer’ (Keith Mackay) laughing at me. I tried to scare them. If I could get in their heads, I would be happy.”

The stadium was a cauldron. Despite the evening kick off, it was close to 30 degrees, with humidity in the 90’s. Almost everyone in the 65,000 crowd was backing China, aside from a pocket of Kiwi expatriates and a division of the New Zealand Army, who were based in Singapore.

The All Whites started well. Captain Steve Sumner had a good early chance and Wynton Rufer tested the keeper from distance, before Wooddin scored yet another golden goal in the 24^th minute.

“I received the ball facing away from the goal,” says Wooddin. “I went to go one way, then turned to my right, onto my left foot and it went across the goalkeeper. As soon as I hit it, I knew it was a goal. You could see he wasn’t going to get there…it was in the far corner.” 

“Richard [Wilson] pinpointed me, I got above the centre back and then `Wow’. I’ve never seen a ball hit the net like that. It was an incredible goal.” 
– Grant Turner

The New Zealand team eschewed several other opportunities, with Duncan Cole going close, but were content at halftime, though Turner and Cole had been booked. 

“John told us ‘You are 45 minutes away from a dream. You have got it in your hands’,” says Turner.

Their spirits soared two minutes into the second half, when Rufer scored with a stunning 25 metre strike. It was particularly satisfying for the coaching staff, who had rehearsed the move, with Turner winning the flick on from goalkeeper Richard Wilson’s clearance.

“We had done it hundreds of times at training,” says Turner. “I would head into the middle of the park, be the target and Wynton and Steve were on the run. Richard pinpointed me, I got above the centre back and then 'wow'. I’ve never seen a ball hit the net like that. It was an incredible goal.”

“[Wynton] could have played it to me,” recalls Wooddin, who was unmarked. “I was thinking, ‘you greedy little…’ but then ’oh, well done’. He was pretty special, Wynton. Amazing natural ability.”

“Ricki [Herbert] got cramp. There were players getting cramp that never had before, because they were so fit. We were empty physically.” 
– Grant Turner

The All Whites had all the momentum, but the second half was never going to be a stroll. The Kiwis were starting to feel the effects of the heat and humidity, as China threw everything at the cause. 

“[The second goal] changed the whole mandate of their mind,” says Turner. “They went up another level and we were in trouble.”

Allan Boath, who was crunched in a studs up tackle, was replaced, giving Peter Simonsen, his first appearance of the campaign, before Glen Adam was introduced for a battered Rufer, who had suffered a nasty head gash in the first half.

After incessant pressure, China pulled a goal back in the 74^th minute, from an indirect free kick inside the penalty area, with Huang Xiaudong smashing past an unsighted Richard Wilson. 

“There was a big clock down the far end,” says Wooddin. “It said 15 minutes to go. I thought ‘Oh Shit’. In hindsight we went in [to Singapore] a bit late, because when the pressure came on, we started to flag.”

The All Whites began to fatigue, even the fittest members of the team.

“Ricki [Herbert] got cramp,” says Turner. “There were players getting cramp that never had before, because they were so fit. The humidity was unbearable, your lungs were bursting and we were empty physically.”

Several players were on their last legs but willed themselves on. They parried, blocked, chased and tackled, repelling waves of Chinese attack.

“Steve Sumner takes a lot of credit for that,” says Adshead. “I could see him from the touchline, organising things, to just be a brick wall.”

Wooddin recalls the captain had decided that a rearguard action was their best hope. 

“Get men behind the ball, keep them out and see what happens,” says Wooddin. “Because we would have struggled in a big way in extra time.”

Added time seemed interminable – more than seven minutes – and Almond made a vital late block, before referee Arppi Filho finally blew his whistle. 

“I looked at the bench, fell over, collapsed and started to cry,” says Turner. “A massive weight had come off my shoulders. We had done it. We had achieved something that we were never going to do, that no one expected us to do. And in a game like that, which was so intense.”

Adshead head was spinning as he walked across the pitch, alongside Fallon. 

“Kevin turned to me and said, ‘I love you mate; I love ya,” says Adshead.

 

Captain Steve Sumner celebrating a win with teammates | Credit Photosport

As the players celebrated with the New Zealand fans in a corner of the stadium, a jubilant Fallon summed it up perfectly to a nearby journalist.

“The smallest nation in the world has beaten the biggest…magic”

Wooddin could barely walk – cramp has been compounded by a groin strain – but was floating on air. 

“From something that started 18 months before, running around Mt Smart, we had actually got to a World Cup,” says Wooddin. “It started out as a bit of an adventure playing football and then it started getting a bit more serious. And the team got better and better as we went.”

“We were an amateur nation, that had an 18-month fairy story,” says Adshead. “What a rollercoaster ride that was. But at the end of it, you wouldn’t want it any other way.”

New Zealand 2 (Steve Wooddin 24’, Wynton Rufer 47’)
China 1 (Huang Xiaudong 74’)

All Whites: Richard Wilson, Glen Dods, Bobby Almond, Ricki Herbert, Adrian Elrick, Steve Sumner, Grant Turner, Duncan Cole, Allan Boath (Peter Simonsen), Steve Wooddin, Wynton Rufer (Glen Adam).