Midfielder Jekob Jeno, who plays in the Israeli top flight, admits the New Zealand No 9 will be a focal point.
“We know he is a great player,” says Jeno. “Everybody knows what he has done in the Premier League. He is very strong, fast, he scores a lot of goals.
“We want to defend together. It’s not just about him. It’s about the New Zealand team. We want to be compact. We want to give no more chances to him, for sure, because if he has more he stays confident and he can score. The plan is we defend together.”
New Caledonia are massive underdogs. If they do qualify for next year’s World Cup – either tonight or via the intercontinental tournament early next year – they would be the smallest nation (population 270,000) to reach Fifa’s biggest stage, besting Iceland’s record. It’s a huge ask, even if the squad are playing for a higher purpose than sport, after the violence and unrest that has plagued the territory since May 2024, following protests over constitutional reform.
“[Everybody] knows the situation in New Caledonia last year,” said Jeno. “We want to show more, we want to give hope and we are here for this. We want to show our values, our strength, our confidence.”
But they face an All Whites team in a good place, physically, mentally and tactically. They have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time – some, like Wood – more than 15 years – and are ready to execute. New Zealand have slipped up against Island nations occasionally over the years but that won’t happen tonight.
“We don’t really want to look back but a large part of the group was there against Costa Rica [in 2022] and we just want to make amends for that,” said vice-captain Libby Cacace. “A massive thing is discipline. We know we are the favourites heading into the match, but we just can’t be complacent. We just have to give everything and if we stick to the game plan, we’ll get the job done.”
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The All Whites are aware of New Caledonia’s threats. They are physically strong, they have pace and trickery in the final third and they can be lethal on the counter-attack.
“We need to play our own game, while understanding some of the challenges they bring,” said coach Darren Bazeley. “And in any game you have to have discipline anyway but the stakes are so high here that we don’t need people to get involved in anything other than just concentrating on playing football.”
Cacace has enjoyed being back in New Zealand – including the rare fixture in Wellington against Fiji, where he made time for a quick trip to his parents’ restaurant, La Bella in Petone.
“I did pop over there, say hello to Mum and Dad there, said Cacace. “I did have a meal as well, can’t miss out on that.”
Like most players, Cacace has a relaxed routine on match day. There is a team walk in the morning near their central city hotel, while he will also spend some time with family.
“I just like to keep calm,” said Cacace. “It’s obviously a big game but not really treated any differently to what I’ve done.”
And – like the rest of his teammates – Cacace hasn’t even contemplated the thought of a second-chance route to the World Cup via the playoff tournament next year.
“Definitely not,” said Cacace. “The job is to qualify on Monday night and we’ll do that.”
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.