All Whites learn harsh lessons over fitness
When asked if the All Whites were physically up to scratch at the Confederations Cup, Andrew Durante’s answer was short and simple. ‘‘No.’’ Fitness was the major problem coach Anthony Hudson identified after the tournament in June, where his team were outclassed by Russia (2-0), Mexico (2-1), and Portugal (4-0), and offered little to suggest they are capable of qualifying for next year’s World Cup.
That task resumes Friday night, when they play the Solomon Islands at QBE Stadium in Auckland, in the first leg of a home-and-away tie that concludes on Tuesday, with the winner going on to play the fifth-best South American side in November for a place at the main event.
The squad began arriving in Auckland on Sunday and had their first training run yesterday morning, and afterwards, Durante opened up about the fitness issues in Russia, which led to midfielders Clayton Lewis and Bill Tuiloma being axed from the squad for these matches.
‘‘There were too many that weren’t at the top of their game for several reasons - some players being out of the game for a while before it [for example].
‘‘But as a whole, we weren’t at the level that we wanted to be at and that we spoke about being at, and there’s been some repercussions from that.
‘‘Everyone knows now that you come into camp, you be fit, you be ready, or you’ll be out the door.’’
It does prompt the question of what will happen next June, if they make it to the World Cup, where the same structural problems will exist, but for now, Durante and the rest of the team are just focused on their immediate task - beating the Solomon Islands, who they have never lost to in 10 matches (nine All Whites wins, one draw).
With the home leg first, the All Whites have a great chance to effectively put the tie to bed - their opponents have scored three goals and conceded 17 in their three New Zealand appearances - but Durante said they would be looking at both games equally.
‘‘We want to perform really strongly on Friday night, and we want to go there and perform strongly again. Not just think we’ve done the job on Friday and go there and sit back and soak up what pressure comes.
‘‘It’s not just the one game here, we’ve got to do it in both games.’’
Durante will likely start in the centre of a back three on Friday, as he did in Russia, and will be the senior man at the back, with Winston Reid and Tommy Smith both absent injured.
The 35-year-old is just returning from a layoff himself, having had a hernia operation six weeks ago, but he said he was good to go for Friday.
‘‘I feel good. I’ve had two good weeks of training with the Phoenix, and I feel in pretty good condition, and I’m ready for whatever role the gaffer has me playing.’’
Durante said the team were done reflecting on their Confederations Cup campaign, and that it was now time to put into practice what they’d learnt.
‘‘It’s definitely a camp about improving the things we didn’t do so well. We’ll be taking the game to the Solomons, definitely, and we want to play a high-pace game, close them down high up the park, win possession up there, and make sure we’re organised in defence and give them no chances.
‘‘No matter who’s injured, or who’s not available for this camp, we’re going to be the stronger team, we’ve got better players, player for player, and if we show up in the way that we need to, it should be an entertaining game for everyone that comes to watch.’’
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