Following the FIFA World Cup, New Zealand coach Danny Bazley spoke at the post-match press conference about the 5-1 defeat to Belgium.

Bazley explained that the team had a tough night. "It still hasn't really sunk in. We're out and have to go home. Tonight was a bitter night. We knew we had to stay in the game. When Belgium submitted their starting lineup, we knew they were a very strong team, and the first 20 minutes were particularly difficult. Our objective was to stay in the game as long as possible, to hold firm with stubborn defending, and I think the players did that very well, with excellent blocks and emergency defending in the final moments. The plan was to keep the game tight as long as possible, then open it up in the second half and pursue the victory we wanted."

He said that New Zealand conceded a "very poor goal" in the second half and then had to chase the game. "The opposition isn't the type of team that would think: 'Okay, let's lose 2-0.' We opened up the game and made many attacking adjustments. Against such opponents, you risk conceding goals like we did today. But in hindsight, I'm very proud of the players; they fought very hard today. However, our elimination from this World Cup didn't really happen this evening, but rather when we were leading against Iran twice and Egypt once. Those were the points we needed to qualify from this group, and we didn't manage it, which made beating Belgium this evening a monumental task."

When asked if there were other tactical options during the match, Bazley said the team could have defended set pieces better. "Football is made up of moments. We conceded goals this evening, but for long periods we defended very well, sometimes heroically—blocking crosses, blocking shots, and protecting the goal. Belgium is an excellent team with top-class players from the best leagues across their entire squad. They have too much possession and can constantly push forward and find each other. We needed to keep it 0-0 until halftime, but we didn't manage that. After that, we had to take risks, make adjustments, and add more pace on the wings, but we still conceded goals. That opened up the game even more, and we brought Callum on, switched to two attacking midfielders, and tried to get back into it. We didn't want to leave the World Cup simply losing 2-0; we wanted to score goals to get back into the game, but unfortunately we were punished multiple times. Late concessions hurt, but what really prevented us from qualifying from the group this evening was actually the first two matches. In those matches, we had a better opportunity to pick up points than this evening."

On the subject of Ellie Just scoring again this evening and taking her World Cup tally to 3 goals, Bazley said this player is completely capable of stepping up to a higher level. "Of course she should. I think she played brilliantly this evening. She's one of the few players in our squad who can adapt to this level. She rarely loses the ball and can escape tight marking by turning her body forward into space. She was outstanding throughout the game and crowned her performance with a beautiful goal that gave the fans a moment of joy. The fans were fantastic; they traveled far to support the team, and the players really felt that support and love. We're all disappointed because this journey is over for us and the fans, but the fans were truly outstanding, and we gave them a small moment—it just wasn't our day this evening."

When asked about the significance of this World Cup for the team's future, Bazley said such match experience is very important. "It means a lot. We don't normally play matches like this—World Cup matches, but also not very competitive official matches. We certainly play Oceania qualifiers, and the rest of the time we mainly play international friendlies. We can call them FIFA internationals and count the points, but you can't replicate this brutal and unforgiving environment. Many of our players don't play in the Premier League or top leagues like Italy or Spain like many Belgian players do. We don't get enough of these moments for players to really feel it, really immerse themselves, whether it's against Egypt, Iran, or this evening. Most players will continue to develop, and many will return in four years, and they'll be better for it, and they need to be better. If we want to reach the level everyone aspires to—the knockout stages—we need to perform better in critical moments. Throughout the tournament we've said that football is decided by moments. Defensive moments need to be better; there can't be lapses in concentration. I also said yesterday that we needed to be perfect to win, but when the corner came, we weren't, and we fell behind 1-0 quickly, and the game changed. But they will definitely learn from this. These are excellent players, individually and collectively, with a very promising future. Although it will hurt, this pain is warranted because we're at the World Cup, and now we have to go home and watch the rest of the tournament on television, which will certainly be difficult."

When asked whether an expanded World Cup could help teams like New Zealand close the gap, Bazley said the team is already narrowing the divide against stronger sides. "If you look at our matches this time, you'll see that the gap has actually narrowed. We played Iran evenly, which was a great match, and we probably should have won; we also put Egypt, who have world-class players and are a very strong team, under intense pressure. So I think the gap is actually smaller. But we're still up against entire squads full of Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga players. For us, perhaps some players need to take similar paths. We have Chris Wood playing in the Premier League, and alongside him there are players in the MLS, Norway, Denmark, and the Championship. We need more players stepping up to higher platforms and playing at this level with Wood. That would be more helpful when we face top teams again."

Übersetzt von KI.

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