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So we did it. The Irish can really start complaining now. New Zealand, who only got to play 3 games at home, are off to South Africa. That’s right; ‘lil old New Zealand, the power of Oceania, will make their second appearance at a World Cup. Ignore the fact we played only 3 matches at home. Ignore the fact that we are not in the World’s top 32, it was a great night for New Zealand football, a great night for New Zealand sport, for post-match interviews, and for those of us who want a change from the same voices (and accents) getting hauled out every 4 years for comment and analysis. We are there, and we don’t need to be embarrassed about it. The baton has been passed on.  FIFA only really started embracing Global Quotas at the 1974 World Cup. That was the first time that Australia qualified, and Zaire lost 9-0. But they stuck to their guns, and it has worked a treat. The 2002 Cup was a truly global affair, with all of the major confederations being represented in the final 8.
Saturday night had everything; drama, a packed house, dress-ups, enough niggle to make it interesting, but not too much to distract from the football, a saved penalty, and emotion after the final whistle never before seen in this country. Even the NZ flag looked good.  Once the Santa Parade was polished off; yet another PR masterstroke, attention is turning to what’s in store for the team and the sport. One of the main issues in the build-up to both legs of the Bahrain elimination tie was the uncharted aspect of it all; a team who rarely plays together, especially in pressure games, up against a side playing unfamiliar to us. And the next 7 months will be just as difficult to anticipate. The FIFA window in March is more like a slit in the curtains; it’s 2 days long so that precludes the British based players. A Trans Tasman match of A-League players seems the most likely product of that. In fact, the A-League should introduce an annual pre-season fixture along those lines. Then we get to May, and a round of friendlies; presumably in Europe. And the All Whites will be in demand, especially by those teams who get drawn in the same pool as Australia, USA and Slovakia. All Whites in Demand in Europe is not a headline you see too often. This will give Herbert a chance to tinker with various combinations; playing 3 strikers seemed to be a custom-made tactic for taking on short players; there will need to be a more conventional option in South Africa. One which frees up Leo Bertos to stride out.  Then the Cup itself. We will have more of an idea of what to expect after the draw of December 4th, and that in itself is now a lot more exciting than in previous cups. Whoever we get put beside, we will clearly struggle to progress to the next round. But, like in 1982, these players will get to come up against one of the Top 8 sides in the world. There will be no easy games, but Herbert will identify one match to target within about 10 seconds of the draw being made. In the 10 seconds following that, he will start planning for it. There all the other positive side-effects. Good performances at the cup, and the preceding friendlies will enable the All Whites to become more marketable when organising future matches; maybe even tempting nations to come here. There is the small matter of the $US11m fluttering the way of NZ Football; the main focus there needs to be keeping the All Whites bandwagon rolling. And the players get a unique chance to parade their skills in front of the world’s mangers, talent scouts and pimps. This will be so much bigger than 1982. Finally, a Note to the Nation. Don’t get carried away with the notion of football taking over the Number 1 spot from Rugby Union. It may happen, it may not. But can’t we be sophisticated enough to actually be able to get in behind both sports? The naval gazing around the pecking order really serves no purpose, and is a bit of embarrassing revival of the tumultuous years of 1981 and 1982. Back then, a large part of society turned its back on rugby for a period of time because of the Springbok Tour, and it coincided nicely with the 1982 World Cup. But that was more like an affair; the nation deep down was still wedded to rugby, and the All Whites of 1982 were not Kiwi enough to be embraced for too long. 2009 is different; football is the dominant sport at junior level anyway, and the dissatisfaction with rugby is more about weariness and disillusionment rather than the hot anger of 1981. Football fans; just concentrate on your own sport and enjoy this next year. Because, amongst other things, you have a cool coach who swears on TV. Twice even. We like that a lot  Many thanks to Michael Roseingrave for the superb photos (check out the full gallery) and to Field Theory for letting us reproduce them. Comments here
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