It was also serendipitous. New Zealand Football hadn’t planned to stage home games this month, with the Northern Hemisphere more likely, before the opportunity of the Fifa series was presented, which changed the equation.
“[The wedding] was always in the plan,” said Bazeley. “He told me last September that this had been planned around him not having an international break and being able to come back and go to the wedding. [But] had we been in Europe or America or somewhere like we normally are, then Ryan wouldn’t have been with us. So it aligned.”
It has also made for an extra special period for Thomas’ parents, who attended the match on Friday night before the nuptials on Saturday.
“It’ll be a weird weekend for my parents, but now full focus goes to my sister and rightly so,” said Thomas, who confirmed Haley hadn’t attended the match. “If she came I would have said what the hell are you doing, you got to stay at home,” laughed Thomas.
Thomas cut a frustrated figure post match. He is one of the most experienced members of the squad – having been a professional in Europe for more than a decade – and knew it was an opportunity lost. He felt the team was too slow to adjust in the first half, as they struggled to get a foothold in the match and Finland had too much time on the ball.
“We have to recognise quicker that we need to step on, also from the back pushing forward and we did that in the second half and you saw that they had a lot more problem building up,” said Thomas. “But we need to recognise that faster because when we need to do that in the World Cup, teams are going to punish us.”
Thomas described the experience as a “reality check”, given what is coming in June. It will help if Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic and Thomas can finally take the field as a midfield trio – allowing Thomas to push further forward – though it is dependent on the physical status of Bell and Thomas, who are carrying niggles.
“We’re very eager to play together,” said Thomas. “Especially before the World Cup, we need to make sure we get some reps together as a three.”
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.