In a country where outperforming international giants is considered a national sport in itself, few achievements come bigger for our tiny South Pacific nation than reaching the Football World Cup.
At 6 am New Zealand time on June 15, the All Whites have a shot at fame once again. Our national team plays in a winner-takes-all game against Costa Rica in Qatar. The prize is a place at World Cup 2022 and a chance to compete against the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Only twice in 21 World Cups, in 1982 and 2010, has New Zealand qualified for the most watched and celebrated team sporting event on the planet. If we beat our Central American opponents, this team will be national heroes and take their place at the Fifa World Cup in Qatar in November.
Those who don't believe we have a chance should remember that New Zealand has overcome the odds before. Anyone inside Wellington's Westpac Stadium on November 14, 2009, will never forget the moment the All Whites clinched a spot at the 2010 World Cup with a 1-0 win over Bahrain. The team, led by its sole English Premier League player, Ryan Nelsen, and filled out with Australian league and lower English league players, was not expected to achieve a miracle.
Plymouth Argyle and All Whites striker Rory Fallon recalls the mood: "You had all these really good pros that had been just fighting for a long time - just scrapping in England, scrapping in Scotland, all these places - and then we were just thrust on to the world stage. And it was just, wow, this is what it's like."
In Wellington, it was do-or-die. Because of the way the play-offs work, New Zealand needed to win to go any further. Fallon remembers the build-up to the game as football fever spread. "It was unreal, because you've never seen a crowd like it in New Zealand before."
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 11 - 17, 2022-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 11 - 17, 2022-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.
