According to FIFA, New Zealand coach Danny Hay commented on the 1-5 defeat to Belgium during the post-match press conference.

Hay said the team had a difficult evening. "We probably haven't fully digested it yet. We're eliminated and we have to go home. It's been a bitter night. We knew we had to stay in the match. When Belgium announced their starting lineup, we knew they were a very strong team, and the first 20 minutes were particularly difficult. All we could do was try to stay in the match, hold firm with a stubborn defense, and I think the players did that very well, with blocks and last-ditch defending. The plan was to stay in the match as long as possible, then open the game in the second half and try to get the win we wanted."

He said 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 to say, 'Well, we're just going to lose 0-2.' We opened up the game and made many attacking adjustments. Against such an opponent, you risk conceding goals like today. But looking back, I'm very proud of the players; they fought hard today. However, our elimination from this FIFA World Cup didn't really happen tonight, but when we drew with Iran twice and then with Egypt. Those were the points we needed to get out of the group, and we didn't, which made the task of beating Belgium tonight a difficult one."

When asked if there were other options tactically, Hay said the team could have defended set pieces better. "Football is made of moments. We conceded goals tonight, but for long spells in the match, we defended very well, sometimes even heroically, blocking crosses, blocking shots, protecting the goal. Belgium is a very good team, with top-level players from the best leagues across their entire squad. Their ball control is too strong, and they can constantly advance and find space. We needed to hold at 0-0 until halftime, but we didn't. Then we had to take risks, make adjustments, and add pace on the wings, but we still conceded. That opened the match up further. We brought on Callum, switched to two attacking midfielders, trying to get back into the match. We weren't going to leave the FIFA World Cup simply losing 0-2; we wanted to score, get back in the match, but unfortunately, we were punished multiple times. Conceding late is painful, but tonight, what really prevented us from getting out of the group were actually the first two matches. In those two matches, we had a better chance to get points than tonight."

Asked about Eli Just scoring again tonight, bringing his total to 3 goals in this FIFA World Cup, Hay said the player is certainly capable of operating at a higher level. "Of course he should be. I think he put in an excellent performance tonight. He's one of the few players on our team who can adapt to this level. He rarely loses the ball, can get out of tight spaces, and turn his body forward. He was exceptional throughout the match and finished with a beautiful goal, giving the fans a moment of joy. The fans have always been fantastic; they traveled a long way to support the team, and the players genuinely felt that support and love. We're all disappointed because this journey has ended for us and the fans, but the fans have been truly exceptional, and we gave them a moment, it just wasn't our night tonight."

Asked about the importance of this FIFA World Cup for the team's future, Hay said such match experience is very important. "It means a lot. We don't typically play these types of matches—not FIFA World Cup matches—and not many highly competitive official matches either. Of course, we play Oceania qualifiers, and the rest of the time, we mainly play friendly international matches. We can call them FIFA series, and we get points for those matches, but you can't replicate that harsh and unforgiving environment. For many of our players, they're not in the Premier League or playing in top leagues like Italy or Spain the way many Belgian players do. We don't get enough of these moments for players to truly feel and be immersed in it, whether against Egypt, Iran, or tonight. Most players will continue forward, and many will be back in four years, and they'll be better because of this, and they need to be better. If we want to reach the heights that everyone hopes for—that is, reach the knockout stage—we need to be better in key moments. We've repeated throughout the tournament that football is decided by moments. Defensive moments need to be better; there must be no lapses. I also said yesterday that to win today, we needed to be perfect, but when the corner came, we weren't, and we quickly fell behind 0-1, and the match changed. But they will certainly learn from this. It's a very good group of players with a very promising future individually and collectively. While this hurts, the pain is appropriate because we're at the FIFA World Cup, and now we have to go home and watch the rest of the tournament on television, which will certainly be very difficult."

Asked whether an expanded FIFA World Cup could help teams like New Zealand close the gap, Hay said the team is already catching up to stronger teams. "If you look at our matches this time, you'll find that the gap has actually narrowed. We matched Iran; it was an excellent match, and we actually should have won; we also put a lot of pressure on Egypt, who have world-class players and are a very strong team. So I think the gap is indeed narrower. But what we're facing are still full teams with Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga players. For us, perhaps some players need to follow similar paths. We have Chris Wood playing in the Premier League, and apart from him, there are others in MLS, Norway, Denmark, and the Championship. We need more players to go to higher platforms and play at those levels with Wood. That way, when we face top-level opposition again, it will be more beneficial."

Traduit par IA.

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