(Reuters) – Chris Wood would love to fireplace New Zealand into the World Cup finals in Tuesday’s playoff in opposition to Costa Rica however the Newcastle United striker is skilled sufficient to know that it’ll take more than one man to get the job performed.
The 30-year-old entrance man scored his first purpose for his nation in a pleasant in opposition to Honduras in 2010 and a tally of 32 more over the past 12 years make him New Zealand’s most probably hero in opposition to the Central Americans in Qatar.
“I’d like to be that man,” Wood instructed the New Zealand Herald.
“But I’ve learnt over my profession that even when it’s not me and I do my job and another person is that man, I’m more than completely happy.
“It is just not going to be down to 1 participant to win this sport,” he added.
Woods accepts that his prolific goalscoring and expertise within the English Premier league with Leicester City, Burnley and now Newcastle will guarantee he’s a well-marked man on Tuesday.
He can also be comfy with the burden of expectation on the group from All Whites followers again in New Zealand.
“Luckily being 30-years-old and having the expertise of 13 years as a skilled, mentally you possibly can take it as simply one other sport,” he instructed the newspaper.
“It used to have an effect on me a lot more after I was youthful however you already know what makes you tick and you already know your sport inside out. It’s you and your group mates … you possibly can’t management the rest.”
New Zealand final went to the World Cup finals in 2010, returning dwelling unbeaten after drawing all three of their group matches.
Wood, then a teenager, featured as a substitute in each match in South Africa and he is aware of precisely what’s on the road at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.
“It’s big,” says Wood. “It offers you nice hope and nice braveness to know that with this one sport we might be off to a World Cup.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, enhancing by Peter Rutherford)
