All Whites v Samoa: Fifa World Cup qualifying clash a true David and Goliath contest

The All Whites celebrate a goal against Vanuatu in Hamilton. Photo / Photosport

Samoa football coach Jess Ibrom is braced for an onslaught against the All Whites on Monday night.

In terms of David and Goliath contests in this country, the gulf doesn’t get much greater than what might unfold at Mt Smart Stadium.

The New Zealand side showed their ruthless edge against Vanuatu on Friday, with the 8-1 result their biggest victory margin in two decades. They could have had several more goals, given the amount of opportunities carved out. And Vanuatu are relatively big fish in Oceania. They have had some notable past results, including reaching the final of the 2024 Nations Cup, and are well led by Brian Kaltak, one of the best defenders in the A-League.

World No 186 Samoa, on paper, are a couple of rungs further down, having rarely been involved at this stage of World Cup qualifying across their history. Their only previous clashes with New Zealand came in 1987, with a 7-0 loss in Apia followed by a 12-0 defeat in Auckland, with Kevin Hagan (four), Andy Deeley and Mike McGarry all grabbing hat-tricks.

“It’s massive,” Ibrom told the Herald. “It’s like a Premier League team against a team a few leagues below. We have just got amateur footballers and we know it is a big, big challenge. We just have to work the hardest we have ever worked, to keep things as competitive as we can, for as long as we can because they are best in the region for the reason.”

It’s perhaps fortunate that the match is a dead rubber – with the All Whites already assured of top spot in group B – which may take the edge off the contest, though New Zealand will want to keep their standards high. But Samoa are doing well to be at this level, a product of a deliberate strategy – launched in 2021 – to unearth players from all around the world. The federation outsourced, engaging International Football Consultancy to find talent with Samoan heritage.

“They used all kind of methods,” said Ibrom. “Sometimes it is cold calling, social media, communities, football networks, data, contacting clubs in Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, America, everywhere in Europe. We have found players that didn’t even know they were eligible.”

More than 200 players – across men’s and women’s football – were discovered – before a filtering process to identify the best.

“It’s exciting,” said Ibrom. “Your phone pings and you find a player. But everyone is doing this globally now.”

It has paid dividends. Nine players in the current squad came through that process. Most are based in New Zealand or Australia but there are outliers, including striker Pharrell Trainor – featuring in the under-19 Bundesliga – and midfielder Alex Malauulu – playing in the fourth tier of Argentine football.

“I saw a post from Tim Cahill, about his son playing for Samoa,” said Trainor. “I was like, I’m pretty sure my grandfather is full Samoan, so I thought, why not give that a go?”

The initiative was a big factor behind Samoa’s recent qualification for the Under-17 Women’s World Cup – a first for the nation in any Fifa tournament – while the senior men’s team have made notable progress.

“Now we are in a different phase,” said Ibrom. “With all due respect to Cook Islands, American Samoa and Tonga, we have jumped into that next phase, in the next tier and we need to work hard to establish ourselves.”

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. A football aficionado, Burgess will never forget the noise that greeted Rory Fallon’s goal against Bahrain in Wellington in 2009.