Let the All Whites enjoy their moment in the fun

 
Ben Somerford Columnist

By Ben Somerford, 24 Jun 2009 Ben Somerford is a Roar Expert

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The All Whites have been on the wrong end of some stinging criticism after overzealously celebrating the 0-0 draw with Iraq at the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

When the final whistle went against Iraq on Sunday, it was as if the All Whites had qualified for the next phase of the tournament. But instead they hadn’t even won a match, nor even scored a goal, and in fact, had just finished last in their group.

But what they had done, was create New Zealand football history by claiming a point in the Confederations Cup for the first time after fruitless campaigns in 1999 and 2003.

It actually ended an eight-game losing streak in the continental tournament too.

And considering New Zealand’s underdog status coming into the Confederatons Cup and the criticism the All Whites had received following emphatic losses to Spain and South Africa earlier in the tournament, it was a moment to rejoice for the players and coaches alike.

So there’s no denying that achievement for the modest New Zealanders.

But where the latest criticism of the All Whites has been aimed at is that their celebrations suggest they believe the tournament was a success when in fact their performances in the losses against the Spanish and the South Africans were woeful.

SBS commentator Craig Foster claimed he thought the 0-0 draw meant the New Zealanders would ‘gloss’ over their failures in the tournament ahead of their difficult World Cup qualifying intercontinental playoff later in the year against either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia.

But the All Whites should be ‘cut a little slack’ and be allowed to enjoy their moment in the sun.

As All Whites coach Ricki Herbert put it, “I think tonight was another milestone for the country. We proved a few doubters wrong with the way we played.”

Indeed, it is an easy assessment to scoff at New Zealand’s ‘breakthrough’ when you compare it to the recent exponential success of the Socceroos.

And in some ways it is fair, considering both nations were in similar circumstances a decade or so ago when we were battling it out in Oceania.

But while Australia, with more talent and resources at it’s disposal, has been able to kick on and achieve a number of ‘breakthroughs’, New Zealand hasn’t.

But that’s no fault of the eleven or so players on the pitch who faced Iraq on Sunday night and that’s why the attack from the critics is ill-directed.

On paper, and upon considering recent form, those All Whites players would have known they were up against it when they lined up to play Iraq but they battled hard and created history.

While claiming a scoreless draw against Iraq, a team ranked 77th in the world, shouldn’t be viewed as the world’s greatest achievement, the fact that the All Whites were able to end their own Confederations Cup drought should be viewed as the breakthrough.

Now though, the focus should be on achieving the next milestone, World Cup qualification.

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