Bangladesh are motivated for obvious reasons . We need to be patient. They'll run themselves out and I don't think they have enough bench strength while we have decent options . Just gotta stay calm and strike when the opportunity arise .
Since 1930, only two New Zealand teams have featured on the biggest football stage – in 1982 and 2010.
Now there will be three.
The All Whites have qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup after a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in front of a home crowd at Eden Park.
Newstalk ZB Weekend Sport host Jason Pine told The Front Page the atmosphere was electric.
" The World Cup is widely regarded as the pinnacle of football, but also it’s one of the big sporting events in the world. It creates a profile. It puts the game front and centre of the consciousness of not just the sporting public, but the general public here.
“As far as New Zealand Football is concerned, it’s a financial windfall also because teams that make the World Cup get quite a substantial payout from Fifa, which they can then reinvest into the game at all levels, not just into the elite sides,” he said.
Pine puts our successes on the world stage down to the advent of professional clubs in New Zealand.
“The Wellington, Phoenix coming into existence in 2007 led, I think anyway, directly towards qualification in 2010. Yes, it’s been a little bit of time between drinks since then, but if you look at the current squad, I think this is as good a roster as we’ve ever had,” he said.
Auckland FC joined the current A-League season last year. They’ve won 12 games out of 20, with just two losses. The team sits comfortably atop the table and could become the first to win the cup in their debut season.
" They’ve recruited some very good players. You’re allowed five overseas players in the A-League and all five of their overseas players have been hits... The rest of the team are mainly Kiwis and I think that’s helped in gaining a connection with the fan base. So on the field, I think they’re just a very, very good squad. But the way that they have engaged the Auckland football community and made an Auckland FC game the place to be... They’ve really got something special going there," Pine said.
Pine said there has been talk of a third A-League team from New Zealand added to the mix, potentially spawning in Christchurch.
“There are 13 teams at the moment. They’re on record saying they wanna get to 16 or 18 to really flesh out their season, and make it more attractive for broadcasters. And if you look at untapped markets, there are a few in Australia. There’s no men’s team in Canberra for example.
“Christchurch I think would be a welcome addition to the A-League. What Auckland FC has done is proven that any doubt about another New Zealand team was completely unfounded. In fact, in many ways, Auckland FC is the success story on and off the pitch.
“It seemed fanciful a few years ago when they were trying to kick Wellington Phoenix out. They didn’t want any New Zealand teams – so now to be talking about the possibility of three, I think shows how far we’ve come,” Pine said.
Since 1930, only two New Zealand teams have featured on the biggest football stage – in 1982 and 2010.
Now there will be three.
The All Whites have qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup after a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in front of a home crowd at Eden Park.
Newstalk ZB Weekend Sport host Jason Pine told The Front Page the atmosphere was electric.
" The World Cup is widely regarded as the pinnacle of football, but also it’s one of the big sporting events in the world. It creates a profile. It puts the game front and centre of the consciousness of not just the sporting public, but the general public here.
“As far as New Zealand Football is concerned, it’s a financial windfall also because teams that make the World Cup get quite a substantial payout from Fifa, which they can then reinvest into the game at all levels, not just into the elite sides,” he said.
Pine puts our successes on the world stage down to the advent of professional clubs in New Zealand.
“The Wellington, Phoenix coming into existence in 2007 led, I think anyway, directly towards qualification in 2010. Yes, it’s been a little bit of time between drinks since then, but if you look at the current squad, I think this is as good a roster as we’ve ever had,” he said.
Auckland FC joined the current A-League season last year. They’ve won 12 games out of 20, with just two losses. The team sits comfortably atop the table and could become the first to win the cup in their debut season.
" They’ve recruited some very good players. You’re allowed five overseas players in the A-League and all five of their overseas players have been hits... The rest of the team are mainly Kiwis and I think that’s helped in gaining a connection with the fan base. So on the field, I think they’re just a very, very good squad. But the way that they have engaged the Auckland football community and made an Auckland FC game the place to be... They’ve really got something special going there," Pine said.
Pine said there has been talk of a third A-League team from New Zealand added to the mix, potentially spawning in Christchurch.
“There are 13 teams at the moment. They’re on record saying they wanna get to 16 or 18 to really flesh out their season, and make it more attractive for broadcasters. And if you look at untapped markets, there are a few in Australia. There’s no men’s team in Canberra for example.
“Christchurch I think would be a welcome addition to the A-League. What Auckland FC has done is proven that any doubt about another New Zealand team was completely unfounded. In fact, in many ways, Auckland FC is the success story on and off the pitch.
“It seemed fanciful a few years ago when they were trying to kick Wellington Phoenix out. They didn’t want any New Zealand teams – so now to be talking about the possibility of three, I think shows how far we’ve come,” Pine said.
OFC had 0.5 slot. Now they have 1.33 slots. NZ will qualify every single time from now on
This is the kind of passion that gets you to a World Cup. And with the top quality players they are bringing in Indonesia will be the first team from SE Asia to qualify for World Cup.
This is the kind of passion that gets you to a World Cup. And with the top quality players they are bringing in Indonesia will be the first team from SE Asia to qualify for World Cup.
Kyrgyzstan beat Qatar. A black African player was playing for them. When you are in water you need to learn to swim. As simple as that. Without origin players India won't be able to compete against even saff teams like BD
Japan have qualified for their 8th consecutive World Cup and now have JFA Pledge of 2050, winning the World Cup.
In India, in the last 20 years alone i've seen: Vision 2010, Goal Project 2014, Lakshya 2022, Vision 2047.
Japan stick to their goals, we keep moving the goalposts
Really don't understand why people discuss this when government doesn't allow dual citizenship. This is outside the realm of AIFF. @MarcusMergulhao it would be great if you can present a longish story or a series on how Japan planned their football growth.
This is the kind of passion that gets you to a World Cup. And with the top quality players they are bringing in Indonesia will be the first team from SE Asia to qualify for World Cup.
Kyrgyzstan beat Qatar. A black African player was playing for them. When you are in water you need to learn to swim. As simple as that. Without origin players India won't be able to compete against even saff teams like BD
It's not difficult to have a legislation to grant conditional citizenship for people who excel in sports. This way it restricts strictly dual citizenship to only few people who represent India for sports purpose only. There is no national security threat, no need to panic about someone abusing this. This citizenship can always be revoked too and can be included in the clause. I don't get it why we don't want to do this.
People in our government are too dumb and corrupt to understand this. They are afraid they will lose out due to the current cricket extravaganza and the unlimited money politicians have access to. Dumb idiots don't realize the amount of money they can make if at all we play in a WC.
Comments
https://forum.indianfootballnetwork.com/discussion/2869/india-vs-bangladesh-2025-afc-asian-cup-qualifier#latest
Thanks!
New Link in Ban vs India thread
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/why-the-all-whites-world-cup-qualification-matters-for-nz-football-the-front-page/FIQMLMP3QBHCTMETB3AEY7VOUE/
Since 1930, only two New Zealand teams have featured on the biggest football stage – in 1982 and 2010.
Now there will be three.
The All Whites have qualified for the 2026 Fifa World Cup after a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in front of a home crowd at Eden Park.
Newstalk ZB Weekend Sport host Jason Pine told The Front Page the atmosphere was electric.
" The World Cup is widely regarded as the pinnacle of football, but also it’s one of the big sporting events in the world. It creates a profile. It puts the game front and centre of the consciousness of not just the sporting public, but the general public here.
“As far as New Zealand Football is concerned, it’s a financial windfall also because teams that make the World Cup get quite a substantial payout from Fifa, which they can then reinvest into the game at all levels, not just into the elite sides,” he said.
Pine puts our successes on the world stage down to the advent of professional clubs in New Zealand.
“The Wellington, Phoenix coming into existence in 2007 led, I think anyway, directly towards qualification in 2010. Yes, it’s been a little bit of time between drinks since then, but if you look at the current squad, I think this is as good a roster as we’ve ever had,” he said.
Auckland FC joined the current A-League season last year. They’ve won 12 games out of 20, with just two losses. The team sits comfortably atop the table and could become the first to win the cup in their debut season.
" They’ve recruited some very good players. You’re allowed five overseas players in the A-League and all five of their overseas players have been hits... The rest of the team are mainly Kiwis and I think that’s helped in gaining a connection with the fan base. So on the field, I think they’re just a very, very good squad. But the way that they have engaged the Auckland football community and made an Auckland FC game the place to be... They’ve really got something special going there," Pine said.
Pine said there has been talk of a third A-League team from New Zealand added to the mix, potentially spawning in Christchurch.
“There are 13 teams at the moment. They’re on record saying they wanna get to 16 or 18 to really flesh out their season, and make it more attractive for broadcasters. And if you look at untapped markets, there are a few in Australia. There’s no men’s team in Canberra for example.
“Christchurch I think would be a welcome addition to the A-League. What Auckland FC has done is proven that any doubt about another New Zealand team was completely unfounded. In fact, in many ways, Auckland FC is the success story on and off the pitch.
“It seemed fanciful a few years ago when they were trying to kick Wellington Phoenix out. They didn’t want any New Zealand teams – so now to be talking about the possibility of three, I think shows how far we’ve come,” Pine said.
@Argentina have booked their ticket to the #FIFAWorldCup!
https://x.com/FIFAWorldCup
This is the kind of passion that gets you to a World Cup. And with the top quality players they are bringing in Indonesia will be the first team from SE Asia to qualify for World Cup.
it would be great if you can present a longish story or a series on how Japan planned their football growth.
https://x.com/MarcusMergulhao/status/1905169420248588777
People in our government are too dumb and corrupt to understand this. They are afraid they will lose out due to the current cricket extravaganza and the unlimited money politicians have access to. Dumb idiots don't realize the amount of money they can make if at all we play in a WC.