Tanzania 2 NZ 1
Teenager Chris Wood has won over an influential new admirer after coping admirably when debuting at international level for the New Zealand soccer team.
The 17-year-old West Bromwich Albion striker was given his first cap for a "friendly" against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam today (NZT) by All Whites coach Ricki Herbert.
New Zealand lost 1-2, with their lone goal coming via a Shane Smeltz penalty, but Wood left a lasting impression on Herbert.
The coach was taken with Wood's maturity, work rate and endeavour as the Waikato product became one of the youngest to play for the All Whites.
Wood, who this year became just the fifth New Zealander to experience English premiership action, was employed in front of Smeltz.
Herbert kept him on the field for 55 minutes against the Tanzanians, ranked 26 places below New Zealand, at 104th in the world.
Despite losing, Herbert saw enough from his players to take encouragement from the match, played in front of a 30,000-strong crowd as the All Whites prepared for the Confederations Cup this month in South Africa.
Wood may well find himself used heavily in that tournament after drawing rich praise from Herbert.
"He works incredibly hard and at the top we need that, obviously with the challenges ahead (Confederations Cup and World Cup qualifiers)," Herbert said.
"He has a degree of pace which I think will be important for us and he has a good physical presence. I think he will go away and be pleased with his efforts tonight.
"I was very, very impressed with Chris. To me, age is not a barrier but he has done extremely well for a such a young person. He is very mature.
"Whether he sets things alight over the next three weeks or the World Cup qualifiers, he is an absolute quality find for the national team."
Herbert said Wood presented himself as a grounded individual when joining the team in southern Africa, where he found himself surrounded by people he was meeting for the first time.
"He had his feet very much on the floor. He is a normal guy and in our environment, from a cultural point of view, he has just slipped in seamlessly.
"He grafts away. His work around the training pitch is good, he's very open and informative, he wants to learn.
"He's done a decent job. He can be proud of his effort tonight, he certainly hasn't let himself down."
Smeltz's 10th-minute penalty, his 11th goal in his last nine international appearances, came after a Tanzanian was penalised for hand ball.
The home side equalised 10 minutes after the break and grabbed the winner in the 89th minute.
The match was the first of three "friendlies" for the All Whites before the Confederations Cup.
They play Botswana in Gaborone on Sunday (NZT) before playing World Cup champions Italy in Pretoria, South Africa, next Thursday.
Their Confederations Cup pool opponents are European champions Spain, South Africa and Iraq.
Herbert said his team became fatigued during the latter stages against Tanzania.
"We were rusty at times, and physiologically we died away at the end but there were good, positive signs from some players who will make it an interesting selection for the game against Italy."
- NZPA
