Hudson talks up All Whites hopes
If you believe, you can achieve.
That’s the message from All Whites coach Anthony Hudson, just over a week out from the biggest assignment of his career so far.
Next Sunday ( New Zealand time) New Zealand will take on Russia in St Petersburg in the newly minted Krestovsky stadium with almost 70,000 locals behind the Sbornaya.
The All Whites then travel almost 2500km, down to the edge of the Black Sea, to take on Mexico on June 22 ( NZT) in Sochi.
Less than 72 hours later back in St Petersburg, the All Whites face European champions Portugal, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, who is fresh from another Champions League title with Real Madrid.
For any side in world football, it would be a demanding task, but for New Zealand, it’s an incredibly daunting prospect.
But Hudson is bullish, adamant that his team is ready to deliver the best performances of his reign.
“I’m really pleased with where we are at,” said Hudson. “The players are all in a good place mentally. It’s not just a case of clicking your fingers and saying it and we are all going to believe. But we have had some really good meetings while we’ve been here, we’ve trained really well and the signs are there — everyone believes we have what it takes to do something that has never been done before. Whether that happens, we don’t know, but we won’t come out of this tournament having left anything on the table.”
Not everything has gone smoothly so far — five players were affected by a stomach bug last week and others arrived into camp late after the European season — but Hudson has been impressed with the readiness of his players.
“Everyone has come in really sharp,” said Hudson. “Two or three months ago, I probably knew what my first XI was, but some players have come in and raised some question marks in my mind. It has given me something to think about.”
The All Whites left their Dublin hotel at 4.30am yesterday morning, ahead of their journey to St Petersburg. Hudson and his coaching staff will spend today scouting, watching the clashes between Russia and Chile in Moscow, and Belarus versus Bulgaria.
The team has a training session on Sunday, then a final warm- up clash with Belarus in Minsk on Monday morning ( NZT), before returning to Russia to count down to the tournament proper.
“We have played three teams ranked in the top 50 over the last nine months and been in the game,” said Hudson.
“At no point in those games — in terms of results and performances — have we been completely smashed. It’s just fine tuning things and we are on the right track.”