Wood keen to be part of Oly Whites at Olympics
All Whites striker Chris Wood is approaching the end of his fourth season as an English Premier League regular for Burnley.
But in that time, he’s only pulled on the jersey of his national team on five occasions – four of them in his first three months at the club – and that’s not because of a lack of desire on his part.
There simply haven’t been many matches, which is part of why the
29-year-old is keen to be involved with the OlyWhites’ Tokyo Olympics campaign this July, as one of the three over-age players coach Danny Hay is allowed to include in a predominantly under-24 squad.
Speaking to Stuff last week, after scoring a Premier League hat-trick for the Clarets against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a win that has all-but secured their place in the competition next season, he first said: ‘‘Hopefully I’m fit and available – that’s the main thing’’.
Then added: ‘‘I’ve always wanted to play for my country and the Olympics is another one that I’d love to do again, but also it comes down to Burnley.
‘‘With it falling outside a Fifa window ... they have a lot of say.
‘‘There’ll be a discussion at the end of the season ... with the manager and the coaching staff to see what their thoughts are and how it lies and if Danny calls me up in the meantime or after the season, happy days.’’
The men’s football tournament at the Olympics starts on July 22, but Hay is hoping to have the bulk of his squad in camp for two weeks before that – though he has said he could be flexible with the likes of Wood, whose club would probably prefer him to be away for as little time as possible.
There is a sense of excitement around the OlyWhites, now that they’ve been drawn with South Korea, Honduras, and Romania, in the best group they could have hoped for, albeit one that will still throw up plenty of challenges as team looks for its first Olympic win, and after that, a place in the quarterfinals.
The group stage is set to conclude on July 28, a little over two weeks out from the start of the new Premier League season on August
14, with the knockout stages taking place from July 31 to August 7.
Another reason Wood is eager to be involved is because the Olympics will effectively serve as the start of a
12-month campaign that he – and everyone else involved with the All Whites – is hoping will end with qualification for the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in November and December next year.
‘‘This is the buildup,’’ Wood said.
‘‘A good bunch of these lads that are going to be playing the Olympics will be an involved in the national team setup going into that campaign, so more game time together will mean more quality for us on the pitch.’’
Wood’s last appearance for the All Whites – and his only appearance since the end of the team’s last World Cup qualifying campaign, in Peru in November 2017 – came in Dublin against the Republic of Ireland in November 2019, Hay’s first game in charge of the national team.
He said the fact that he had barely been called away on international duty during his time at Burnley was unlikely to be a factor in any decision around the Olympics, an event he took part as an under-23 player in England in
2012, scoring in New Zealand’s 1-1 draw with Egypt at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.
Burnley’s season ends on May
23, so it won’t be until the final week of the month, or even into June, that a final decision is made about his participation in Japan, with the club’s immediate focus being securing Premier League football for another year.
But so far the signs are positive – not only for him, but for the other over-age players at the top of Hay’s list, centre backs Michael Boxall and Winston Reid, who are believed to be just as eager to take part.
With the All Whites playing just four matches in 2018 and two in
2019, then none in the past 17 months, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, that trio and the country’s other senior players have not been able to make the most of their prime footballing years on the world stage.
Wood said it had been ‘‘frustrating for everybody – players, staff, and I’m sure fans as well, not seeing the All Whites play’’.
‘‘We’re eager to turn that around on the All Whites front and there’s no better time to start than with the Olympic team.’’