Head coach Darren Bazeley says his All Whites side deserved their 1-1 draw against the United States, having responded well after their disappointing loss to Mexico.
“We did a lot of talking after the Mexico game, and we were looking for a big reaction, and I think we got that,” a bullish Bazeley said after the match in Cincinnati.
A late goal by substitute Ben Waine earned New Zealand the draw against the United States, who are rated #16 in the FIFA world rankings, 78 places higher than the All Whites.
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Main photo: Darren Bazeley … ‘We definitely reacted really well today.’
“(The) US were a very good team with some very good players, but I thought the first half and parts of the second half, we put them under a lot of pressure.
“We won the ball back in their half a few times. We weren’t quite good enough in the moments where we won the ball back to go and actually hurt them.
“We had our moments in possession, and we grew into the game really well.
“I thought it was a good reaction from our players and, you know, obviously it’s disappointing when we conceded the goal.
“But the fight and the impact from the subs was great.
“Everybody worked hard, played as a team and that’s the standard out of possession that we need now — that commitment, fight and aggression.
“Our job is to get better in possession, keep working on getting the ball into dangerous areas … we know we want to try and score more goals.
“I’m proud of the boys coming off the back of the Mexico game … which was tough, coming up against a team ranked 16 in the world. That was a lot better.
Bazeley said the key factor against the United States was the pride shown by the players.
“You’re playing for your country, and we’re a good team, but we need to show that consistently. And you’re trying to be more consistent with our press and in possession.
“But the main thing was go out and show a lot of pride. And I thought they did that really well.
“We’ve still got a bit of work to do, but we definitely reacted really well today.
Bazeley acknowledged there was an element of good fortune with the manner in which New Zealand scored their equaliser but “sometimes I don’t feel like we’ve had a lot of luck over the year.”
“Then we get a little bit of luck. But it comes from being positive, positive with the ball and positive forward runs.”
Result
Game played Wednesday September 11, 2024 (NZT)
United States 1 (Christian Pulisic 69′)
New Zealand 1 (Ben Waine 89′)
This story was first published on September 11, 2024.
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