New Zealand will host the FIFA Under-20 Football World Cup next month.
The tournament has been running since 1979 and has been the stepping stone to stardom for the likes of Diego Maradona, Luís Figo and Lionel Messi.
New Zealand’s captain Adam Mitchell says hosting the tourney presents New Zealand with a chance to showcase their talent to the world.
“I am not sure that talent scouts will be looking at us specifically, but there will be plenty of them at the tournament. If the guys play well it could lead to big things.”
New Zealand has attended the tournament three times and never won a match in nine starts. They first attended the tournament in 2007. Their best performance was in 2011 when they held Uruguay and Cameron to 1-1 draws and lost narrowly to Portugal (0-1).
Mitchell says New Zealand’s goal is to reach the quarter finals.
“Top eight is a realistic goal. We have a tough group, but if we are clinical and take our chances we will be up there.”
Featured in New Zealand’s group are Ukraine, USA and Myanmar. Neither country won their regional qualifying tournament, but Mitchell is under no illusions that all three countries will present stiff opposition.
“Ukraine come through the European zone which is properly the toughest region to get through. Asia was really strong this year, Australia didn’t even when a game so Myanmar will be tough, while the USA are obviously a big country with a good record.”
Mitchell has previous experience in FIFA tournaments. He was captain of New Zealand at the World under-17 event in the UAE in 2013.
New Zealand lost all three matches to Uruguay (0-7), Italy (0-1) and Côte d’Ivoire (0-3).
New Zealand has retained a large cohort of players from that event and Mitchell believes it was a valuable learning experience.
“The first game was a disaster. We didn’t prepare well and everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. In the Italian game we missed a penalty and a couple of other chances and the same was true in the Côte d’Ivoire game.”
“We have to be clinical. You don’t get many chances at this level, but when you do, you have to take them.”
Mitchell insists New Zealand has a talented team that can take their chances.
Bill Tuiloma plays for Olympique Marseille in Ligue 1, the top French league. He has already been capped by the All Whites and shapes as a key figure in midfield.
Alex Rufer (son of former All White Wynton Rufer) and Andre de Jong (son of Fred) bring pedigree and goalkeeper Oliver Sail has impressed.
Mitchell himself is a centre back. What does he bring to the table?
“I think I am strong on the ball. My main role is defence, but I like to push forward. I read the game well and communicate strongly which is really important for a captain.”
Mitchell is used to leadership. He broke into the Rosmini College First XI as a Year 9. He helped Rosmini win promotion from the A2 grade to the A1 grade. Rosmini never played premiership football while Mitchell was at the college, but it didn’t prevent him from learning a lot and fast.
“Rosmini isn’t a powerhouse football school, but we still played a lot of the big guns like Westlake and MAGS in friendlies. From a young age, I was one of the senior players in the team so I was forced to take on a lot of responsibility and that has helped my development.”