New Zealand’s bid to qualify for the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup kicks off tomorrow with a clash against Vanuatu at the OFC U-16 Championship and coach Jose Figueira is wanting his young charges to stamp their authority on the tournament right from the opening whistle.

The squad touched down in the Solomon Islands capital of Honiara a few days ago with the aim of claiming one of the two berths available to Oceania at the World Cup, which takes place in Peru next October.

To do so, they will have to safely negotiate a group that includes hosts Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea before making the final.

As defending champions and with a squad packed full of promising talent, they are expected to do so and Figueira is looking for the Kiwis to justify their favouritism with a dominant display on Sunday.

“I think the biggest thing when you’re travelling to the islands is not to allow the games to become too transitional and not spend long passages of play without the ball or having to chase the opposition around,” he says.

“So we’re making no secret about it, we want to try to dominate the game and live on the ball for as long as possible to enable us to attack and create chances. We want the boys to go out and express themselves and the best way to do that is to have the ball. So that’s been the focus in the lead-in and the challenge for these young players is to keep their concentration and mentality in some really trying conditions against really tricky opposition.”

The difficulties for New Zealand teams of going through a tournament in any of the Pacific Island nations are well documented and the Honiara challenge will be no different for Figueira and co. On the day they arrived, temperatures had already soared to nearly 30 degrees by mid-morning and that’s exactly when they’ll be playing two of their three group matches.

“Coming from the tail end of the winter in New Zealand and into these sorts of temperatures is a bit of a shock to the system,” Figueira admits.

“But the work of the staff in the background and the players trusting in our systems and ways of integrating them into the climate is all going really well so far. We’ve had a few light training sessions and with every day that we’re here and every training session the boys are looking more and more at home.”

A first-up win over Vanuatu would lay a strong foundation for New Zealand to progress from the group and, while very respectful of the threat the Melanesians will pose, the opposition has featured little in Figueira’s game plan.

“We’ve said to the players that the focus really has to be about us in this tournament,” he says.

“We want to stamp our personality and the way we want to play in each and every game and that starts against Vanuatu. We’re expecting a fast and skilful team that will play with no fear. But the focus is firmly on ourselves and what the boys have been showing so far in training is really positive. There’s always going to be a few nerves and excited feelings with it being their first ever international but I think it’s going to be a great day for them.”

In a unique twist, the Vanuatu camp is staying at the same hotel as the Kiwis and they will be looking to make a far bigger impact on the tournament than they managed last time.

While New Zealand claimed the title in Tahiti during February of 2017, Vanuatu failed to win a match and finished bottom of their group with just a point to their name. For such a football-mad nation, that outcome would have been hugely disappointing and they will be desperate to avoid another early exit.

New Zealand open their OFC U-16 Championship campaign against Vanuatu on Sunday 9 September at 11am (NZT) with live coverage available via www.oceaniafootball.com

New Zealand squad for OFC U-16 Championship

Goalkeepers
Alex Paulsen (Wellington United/Scots College)
Luca Taylor (Birkenhead United/Mt Albert Grammar School)

Defenders
Max Drake (North Shore United/Westlake Boys High School)
Kris Naicker (Wellington United/Scots College)
Adam Hillis (Wellington United/Scots College)
Finn O’Connor (Wellington United/Scots College)
Nathan Lobo (Birkenhead United/Liston College)
Harry Bark (North Shore United/Westlake Boys High School)

Midfielders
Ryan Verney (Onehunga Sports/Rutherford College)
Campbell Strong (Eastern Suburbs/Sacred Heart College)
Marko Stamenic (Western Suburbs/St Patricks College)
Jackson Manuel (Wellington United/St Patricks College)
Matthew Garbett (Western Suburbs/Wellington College)
Sean Bright (Western Suburbs/Tawa College)
Ben Old (Wellington United/Scots College)
Hayden Aish (Western Springs/Mt Albert Grammar School)

Forwards
Henry Hamilton (Wellington United/Wellington College)
Joseph Lee (Wellington United/Scots College)
Oskar van Hattum (Wellington United/Scots College)
Bradley Wilson (Western Springs/St Peters College)

New Zealand schedule for OFC U-16 Championship

Vanuatu vs New Zealand
Sunday 9 September, 10am (11am NZT)
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Solomon Islands vs New Zealand
Wednesday 12 September, 3pm (4pm NZT)
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
Saturday 15 September, 10am (11am NZT)
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Semi-Finals
Wednesday 19 September
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Final
Saturday 22 September
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Article added: Saturday 08 September 2018