“We know these games are what they are and we still know we’ve got a lot of work to do before the World Cup but it was pleasing.
“We’ll take a lot of learnings from Friday, probably more than [Monday], but [this] was very nice for the team. We scored goals and all the aspects we talked about in and out of possession, they were better.”
It was New Zealand’s first win over South American opposition at their 20th attempt and the All Whites were good value for the result, even with the red card. Kosta Barbarouses and Elijah Just grabbed first-half goals, before Jesse Randall and Ben Waine put the icing on a historic night after the break.
Bazeley noted the aggressive start to the match – as New Zealand were intense and focused from the outset and they never really relented.
“The players talked about playing simple, playing quickly, moving the ball,” said Bazeley.
He acknowledged the impact of the red card to Dario Osorio (for two yellow cards in quick succession) but felt his team already had a foundation to launch at the time of the dismissal. Bazeley was thrilled with the turnaround from the Finland match, with team meetings and a lot of honest conversations, driven by the squad.
“[Last] Friday was a tough evening,” admitted Bazeley. “We spent a couple of days reviewing it. The players stood up over the last few days and were determined to come back, have a positive reaction and show the crowd who they are.”
In a true group effort, there were plenty of standouts. Joe Bell controlled the midfield tempo on his starting return, while his vision was key for two of the goals. Barbarouses brought energy and some intelligent touches. Tim Payne and Ben Old were impressive in their fullback roles and the front four were sharp, with neat combinations between Elijah Just, Callum McCowatt and Jesse Randall. Randall’s standing continues to rise, with his pace and threat again catching the eye. Goalkeeper Alex Paulsen was also strong, with a couple of firm saves and some crisp distribution, off both feet, which added another dimension to their buildup from the back.
The two matches have given Bazeley a lot more food for thought, with the Fifa World Cup countdown in full swing and the first match (versus Iran in Los Angeles) only 77 days away.
“I don’t think anything’s confirmed because there’s so much football to be played until those decisions are made,” said Bazeley. “But a few [players] have had really good camps.”
Bazeley has yet to finalise when he will name his 26-man squad for the tournament but it is likely to be in mid-May, before warm-up matches against England (June 7 NZT) and one other fixture a few days prior, both in Florida.
“We are close to confirming our pre-World Cup schedule,” said Bazeley. “We’re close to confirming another game and then we’ll get the dates of when the squad needs to be selected by.”
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.