A lone goal second half goal from Angel Di Maria saw Argentina claim their second straight Men's Olympic Football gold in a narrow 1-0 win over Nigeria on Saturday.

In a rematch of Nigeria’s 1996 3-2 Gold Medal win over the Argentina, the South Americans turned the tables on the Super Eaglets, and while there was no five goal score-line the match still pulsated with class and pace befitting an Olympic final.

The match turned on the end of a well-styled counter-attack early in the second half, as Lionel Messi managed to pull the Nigerian defenders out of position with his close control, before sending an inch-perfect through ball to Di Maria, racing in from a deep position.

Eating up the ground between himself and the advancing Amruse Vanzekin, the Benfica hit-man and Argentina U-20 World Champion from 2007 chipped cheekily over the keeper to score.

A day earlier in Shanghai, two of New Zealand’s group opponents met again, with a Diego strike and a brace from Jo giving Brazil their second bronze medal in four Olympics following a 3-0 win over Belgium at Shanghai Stadium.

Gold Medal Match
Beijing - National Stadium (Bird's Nest)
23 August
Nigeria 0 Argentina 1 (Angel DI MARIA 58). Halftime 0-0

Bronze Medal Match
Shanghai - Shanghai Stadium
22 August
Belgium 0 Brazil 3 (DIEGO 27, JO 45, 92). Halftime 0-2

After a thrilling and high-scoring evening at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament 2008, Argentina and Nigeria have advanced to Saturday’s showdown for the gold medal Beijing. Argentina triumphed 3-0 in the all-South American semi-final clash with Brazil, while Nigeria defeated Belgium 4-1 in Shanghai in the other last four tie.

The triumphant duo thus set up the second gold medal rematch in the history of the Olympic tournament, Nigeria claiming victory when the nations contested the 1996 final in Atlanta. The first repeat contest saw Great Britain take on Denmark in both 1908 and 1912.

The games
Nigeria 4-1 Belgium (in Shanghai)
Nigeria advanced to the final in Beijing with an impressive 4-1 victory over Belgium, the second time the Africans have reached the gold medal decider at the Olympic Football Tournament. The team popularly known back home as Dream Team IV will now strive to emulate the gold medal-winning heroes of 1996. Olubayo Adefemi opened the scoring on 17 minutes, before Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi netted a brace on 59 and 72 minutes to put his side firmly in the driving seat. Chibuzor Okonkwo wrapped up the victory after 78 minutes, Laurent Ciman grabbing a consolation for the Belgians two minutes from time.

Argentina 3-0 Brazil (in Beijing)
Argentina strode to a clear-cut 3-0 triumph over their arch-rivals in a match brimming with quality and flair. The Argentine hero in Beijing was two-goal sharpshooter Sergio Aguero, Juan Riquelme adding the third from the penalty spot. Brazil’s misery was completed by late red cards for Thiago Neves and Lucas. The result means the reigning Olympic champions make the final for the second time and have every chance of retaining the gold medal, the one major honour Brazil have yet to win. However, the Brazilian women’s team, all of whom were at the stadium to cheer on their male counterparts, could still collect the gold medal when they meet the USA in Thursday’s final.

The players: Sergio Aguero (ARG) & Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi (NGA)
The evening featured two outstanding goalscorers each with a double strike to his name, Nigeria hitman Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi and Argentina star Sergio Aguero. Both men had a huge hand in sending their respective sides through to the final in Beijing. Obasi’s second rates as one of the best goals of the Olympic Football Tournament, a fulminating drive from the edge of the box to make the score 3-0. Aguero’s two goals, both the result of swift and precise passing moves, were barely less pleasing on the eye.

The stat
444 – the number of minutes played at the tournament during which Brazil failed to concede a goal. Keeper Renan kept clean sheets in the first four matches, but the ruthless Argentinians put an end to that series in convincing fashion. The last time Brazil lost 3-0 to Argentina was a friendly in Sao Paulo back in 1964.

What they said
"In all honesty, I basically wanted to take him off before he scored his second goal. He worked very hard for the team and I wanted to give him a rest before the final. Thankfully I left him on, and he scored a wonderful goal." Nigeria coach Samson Siasia on Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi

All the results
Nigeria 4-1 Belgium
Argentina 3-0 Brazil

Story provided by FIFA Media. For more information please visit www.fifa.com

AUCKLAND – Mike Hester’s impressive performances with the whistle during the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament have been rewarded with an appointment to the semi-final between Nigeria and Belgium.

Hester was part of an Oceania trio of officials – also including Tevita Makasini (Tonga) and Michael Joseph (Vanuatu) – that had strong showings in two group stage matches, but will support a Chilean trio by acting as fourth official for the semi-final.

The first of Hester's two group matches, between USA and Netherlands, was played in front of 45,000 fans and finished in a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands equalising in the last minute.

Hester took centre stage again for Korea v Honduras, refereeing the match – won 1-0 by Korea – while Makasini and Joseph worked as his assistants.

He then took the role of fourth official for the Brazil v Cameroon quarterfinal and will again perform the role for his Olympic semi-final.

A Lieutenant Commander in the New Zealand Navy, Hester only picked up the whistle in 2001 but is already one of New Zealand’s most respected officials, refereeing age-group and senior internationals along with a host of New Zealand Football Championship matches.

This season will be Hester’s second as a reserve referee for the A-League, with the highlight of that involvement the appointment to the Wellington Phoenix’s exhibition match against the LA Galaxy, late last year.

AUCKLAND – The semi-finals of the Men’s and Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments will each feature two of the Oly-Whites’ and Football Ferns’ respective group-stage opponents after Japan’s women and Belgium’s men won through to the final four.

Japan - who trailed the Football Ferns 0-2 in their opening game before fighting back for a draw - spoiled China’s party with a 2-0 win that sent the Olympic hosts crashing out and set up a rematch against USA who beat Canada 2-1 in an extra-time quarterfinal.

Earlier in the tournament, USA beat Japan 1-0 and New Zealand 4-0 on their way to topping Group G.

The winner of that semi will face the winner of Brazil and Germany who beat Norway and Sweden in their respective quarterfinals.

Belgium – who beat 10-man New Zealand 1-0 to progress to the last eight – were the surprise package of the men’s draw upsetting a highly fancied Italy side 3-2 progress to the final four.

They will meet Atlanta gold-medal winners Nigeria who prevailed 2-0 in an all-Africa quarter-final derby against Cote d’Ivoire.

Brazil – who topped New Zealand’s group with a perfect three wins form three starts – needed two extra time goals to get past Cameroon after 90 scoreless minutes, and now face a marquee tie against South American rivals Argentina who also needed extra time before beating the Netherlands 2-1.

Women's Semi-finals
18/08 10pm (NZT) Shanghai - Brazil v Germany 
19/08 1:00am (NZT) Beijing - Japan v USA 

Men's Semi-finals
19/08 10pm (NZT) Shanghai - Nigeria v Belgium 
20/08 1am (NZT) Beijing - Argentina v Brazil 

AUCKLAND – For the second time in a week, a headed goal and a controversial red card have undone the Oly-Whites, who were eliminated from the Olympics after a 0-1 loss to Belgium in Shanghai on Wednesday night.

While Faris Haroun was the goal-scoring hero for Belgium from a 35th minute corner, it was Chilean referee Pablo Pozo who sealed New Zealand’s fate with a red card to Daniel Ellensohn moments after halftime.

Ellensohn’s tackle on Sebastien Pocognoli was certainly late but a straight red from Pozo seemed a severe contrast to the clemency that characterised a first half without a single caution to either side. 

Having played the majority of a 1-1 draw with China with ten men, New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs could be forgiven to getting used to being on the receiving end of game-turning decisions.

“I saw some of the FIFA officials after the game who said it was a bit harsh,” Jacobs said, “but if you look across the tournament a lot of the decisions have been mighty harsh so I guess there’s some consistency there.”

“That doesn’t make it any easier to play with ten men, though.

“You can’t fault the effort of the players when they’re a man down, they were absolutely fantastic again.

“The referee was perhaps a wee bit inconsistent in the way he let some things go and pulled up others for us.

“But that’s just part of the game and just you have to get on with it, and I think we did that.”

Down to ten men, New Zealand – who needed to beat Belgium to qualify for the quarter-finals on Olympic debut – faced one-way traffic in the second half enduring a particularly torrid time heading into the final twenty minutes with Jacob Spoonley pulling off a number of full stretch saves while the woodwork also played a part on three occasions.

Showing all the fighting qualities they displayed against China, the Oly-Whites battled to the end and came away with a score-line closer than some would have predicted against a side that finished in the top four of European qualifying.

Chris Killen’s low snap shot would have brought the scores level in the 74th minute but for the right boot of Logan Bailley in the Belgian goal, while Craig Henderson and Michael Boxall may have done better with second half headers.

Belgium – who booked a Beijing quarter-final against Italy with the victory – began the game with a number of long range efforts but apart from a double chance in the 23rd minute when Jacob’s Spoonley’s post and then his sharp reflexes denied the Europeans the young stopper wasn’t overly troubled in the first half hour.

But just as the Oly-Whites were settling into their work, Haroun popped up with the game’s only goal rising highest to meet a corner that Spoonley had called fall but failed to collect.

New Zealand finished 14th in the 16-team field behind Australia, Serbia and China on goal difference with Jacobs giving his side a mark of 7/10 in their first Olympic campaign.

“We fell short of the goal we had set internally, which was to make the quarter-finals, but we didn’t fall short by much.

Jacobs also thought a number of his players might have earned themselves a chance of a professional contract singling out Cole Peverley and Ian Hogg for strong tournaments and Steven Old for an impressive showing on the night

“You’d hope [they’d get a opportunity]. That’s one of the benefits of coming to these events.

“But for the players to get opportunities they have to perform on the world stage. The chance could be for the Phoenix or an overseas club, you don’t know who might be sitting in the stands watching.”
Jacobs reserved some praise for his older contingent, lauding the impact his three over-age players Ryan Nelsen, Simon Elliott and Chris Killen had on younger players.

“Ryan was exceptional. It was fantastic to have him in the group. His performance against China showed why he’s playing in the English Premiership and he’s been an gentleman among the kids.

“Simon and Killy have been absolutely fantastic. They’ve made really big contributions to the group – It’s been an absolute privilege to have them on board.”

Men’s Olympic Football Tournament: Group C
Shanghai Olympic Stadium
Wednesday 13 August

New Zealand 0 Belgium 1 (Faris Haroun 35)

New Zealand: 1-Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 2-Aaron SCOTT (Captain / 14-Cole TINKLER 80), 6-Michael BOXALL, 12-Steven OLD, 3-Ian HOGG, 16-Sam JENKINS (17-Sam MESSAM 59), 4-Cole PEVERLEY, 7-Simon ELLIOTT, 8-Craig HENDERSON (15-Greg DRAPER 84), 9-Daniel ELLENSOHN, 10-Chris KILLEN.
Substitutes not used: 11-Jeremy BROCKIE (suspended), 13-Shaun VAN ROOYEN, 18-Liam LITTLE (GK)

Cautions: 8-Craig HENDERSON

Red Cards: 9-Daniel ELLENSOHN

Belgium: 1-Logan BAILLY (GK), 2-Sepp DE ROOVER, 4-Thomas VERMAELEN, 5-Sebastien POCOGNOLI, 7-Tom DE MUL (14-Landry MULEMO 84), 8-Faris HAROUN, 9-Kevin MIRALLAS, 10-Jan VERTONGHEN, 11-Maarten MARTENS (16-Anthony VANDEN BORRE 68), 15-Jeroen SIMAEYS, 18-Moussa DEMBELE.
Substitutes not used: 6-Marouane FELLAINI, 12-Yves MA-KALAMBAY (GK), 13-Laurent CIMAN, 17-Stijn DE SMET, 19-Vadis ODJIDJA-OFOE

Cautions: 4-Thomas VERMAELEN, 15-Jeroen SIMAEYS

Group C Final Standings

Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	3	0	0	9	0	9	9
Belgium	3	2	0	1	3	1	2	6
China PR	3	0	1	2	1	6	-5	1
New Zealand	3	0	1	2	1	7	-6	1

Story provided by NZF Media. For more visit www.nzsoccer.com

Photos courtesy of FIFA Media. For more visit www.FIFA.com

AUCKLAND – The Oly-Whites’ hopes of reaching the quarter-finals on their Olympic debut rest on a Shanghai showdown with Belgium on Wednesday night.

The top two of each group progress to the final eight and New Zealand will leapfrog the second-placed Belgians with victory at the 80,000-seater Shanghai Stadium.

China could also come into contention if they beat the already qualified Brazil in Qinhuangdao – in a match played simultaneously with New Zealand’s – but with four players out through suspension, victory over the Seleção would be a tough ask.

“If Brazil keep travelling as they have been then the other game won’t become a factor,” asserted New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs.

Breaking new ground is high on the list of motivation for Jacobs and his players with the chance of becoming the first New Zealand football side – or second if the Football Ferns can upset the USA on Tuesday – to make the quarter-finals of a major tournament, but they realise the size of their task.

“The talk within the camp’s been about continuing to make history.

“We know it won’t be a walk in the park. Belgium are a high-quality side.

“We’ve got to go out there as if we’re playing for the gold medal. Anything less and we’re on the plane.”

Jacobs acknowledge that Belgium – who could potentially progress with a draw – were firm favourites for the match, but said that worked in the Oly-Whites’ favour.

“Like Brazil they’ve got players in the highest leagues of Europe and defensively they are very good – a one-nil loss to Brazil is a reflection of that.

“The pressure is on them to beat us. Belgium have got a core of the squad that made the semi-finals of the U-21 European Championships and have been quite open about this group being their best generation of young footballers in a long time.

“No-one expected us to get a point against China and after the Brazil game, no-one’s expecting us to get anything out of Belgium, so externally all the pressure’s on Belgium.

“Internally we put pressure on ourselves to give us the best chance of getting three points.

New Zealand will be without star defender Ryan Nelsen, who has returned to England for Blackburn’s Premiership opener, but Belgium may also be a defender light with Bundesliga club Hamburg SV trying to recall Vincent Kompany.

Steven Old returns from suspension to take Nelsen’s place in the line-up but yellow cards against China and Brazil rule out in-from striker Jeremy Brockie with Jacobs calling on others to step up.

“We have to pull all the emotion out the equation, and produce performances from [goalkeeper] Jacob Spoonley all the way through to Chris Killen up front.

“There’s been emotion built around the Olympics, playing the hosts, and playing Brazil but this game is just about performance.

After facing Brazil’s star-studded attack led by a rejuvenated Ronaldinho, the key to victory against Belgium may well be cracking a defence that keep China scoreless and held Brazil until down to ten men with ten minutes to go.

“They have a simple game plan but as we saw against China it’s very

effective,” Jacobs said.
“They often get nine players behind the ball but can break very quickly.

“We’ll need to defend well collectively and use the ball better. We have to get behind Belgium on attack as China played a lot of the game in front of them but Belgium were comfortable with that. We have to be smarter.

The Scenario:
The top two in each of four groups progress to the quarter-finals.
New Zealand must win to overtake Belgium. If New Zealand win and

Brazil beat or draw with China: New Zealand qualify in second place.
China beat Brazil: NZ and China finish level on four points. NZ would need to better China’s margin of victory by four goals (or more) to improve its goal differential above China’s.
Men’s Olympic Football Tournament: Group C
Shanghai Olympic Stadium
Wednesday 13 August 7:45 local (11.45pm NZ time)
TV: Live on Freeview and tvnz.co.nz with delayed coverage on TV One.
Radio: Live on RadioSport

New Zealand v Belgium

New Zealand: (from) 1-Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 2-Aaron SCOTT (Captain), 3-Ian HOGG, 4-Cole PEVERLEY, 6-Michael BOXALL, 7-Simon ELLIOTT, 8-Craig HENDERSON, 9-Daniel ELLENSOHN, 10-Chris KILLEN, 11-Jeremy BROCKIE, 12-Steven OLD, 13-Shaun VAN ROOYEN, 14-Cole TINKLER, 15-Greg DRAPER, 16-Sam JENKINS, 17-Sam MESSAM, 18-Liam LITTLE (GK)

Belgium: (from) 1-Logan BAILLY (GK), 2-Sepp DE ROOVER, 3-Vincent KOMPANY, 4-Thomas VERMAELEN, 5-Sebastien POCOGNOLI, 6-Marouane FELLAINI, 7-Tom DE MUL, 8-Faris HAROUN, 9-Kevin MIRALLAS, 10-Jan VERTONGHEN, 11-Maarten MARTENS, 12-Yves MA-KALAMBAY (GK), 13-Laurent CIMAN, 14-Landry MULEMO, 15-Jeroen SIMAEYS, 16-Anthony VANDEN BORRE, 17-Stijn DE SMET, 18-Moussa DEMBELE, 19-Vadis ODJIDJA-OFOE

While most eyes in OFC were focused on the performances of the New Zealand Men’s and Women’s football teams in Beijing last night a trio of Oceania referees were officiating their first match at the 2008 Olympics.

Michael Hester (New Zealand), Tevita Makasini (Tonga) and Michael Joseph (Van) got their first taste of the Olympic spotlight during the Men’s Football match between the USA and Holland in Tianjin.

The match was played in front of 45,000 fans and finished in a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands equalizing in the last minute. Hester took centre stage and refereed the match while Makasini and Joseph worked as his assistants. Hester had a busy night giving out six second half yellow cards.

The officials work in trio’s and with 16 refereeing trio’s in Beijing and only 32 games, it is possible this will be the only game they are assigned.

The OFC trio have been in Beijing since August 1st and have been working on daily refereeing courses and drills to better improve their performance and experience.

Below are some pictures of the trio from the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony.

AUCKLAND – The Oly-Whites found themselves on the wrong end of a golden signal of Olympic intent from Ronaldinho’s Brazil on Sunday night, losing 0-5 to the favourites in Shenyang.

Despite five World Cup victories, two Confederation Cups and a total of seven age-group World Cups at U-20 and U-17 levels, Brazil have never claimed football’s Olympic goal medal but let the rest the field know it’s still on their list of souvenirs to take home from Beijing.

Ronaldinho led the way with two goals but his AC Milan team-mate Alexandre Pato also netted as did Manchester United forward Anderson and second half substitute Rafael Sobis in a mesmerising victory that booked a quarter-final berth with a game in hand.

New Zealand meanwhile, must now beat Belgium on Wednesday to have a chance of claiming second place in the group ahead of the Europeans and China, who met after New Zealand’s game, but that was always the aim for coach Stu Jacobs.

“Our goal was to always get a result against China, which we did, and then to get a something out of Belgium,” Jacobs said.

“The end result of trying to get through [to the quarter-finals] hasn’t changed and we head into Wednesday’s match against Belgium with a hell of a chance.”

For that match the Oly-Whites will be without both Ryan Nelsen – who now returns to Blackburn – and in-form forward Jeremy Brockie – who picked up his second yellow card of the tournament – but will have All White Steven Old back from his suspension.

It may have taken China 88 minutes to unlock New Zealand’s defence on Thursday but it took AC Milan starlet Pato just three.

The 18-year-old prodigy threaded a ball through for Anderson who needed three attempts to get the ball past a desperate Jacob Spoonley and a scrambling defence.

The combination of Milan and Manchester for the first goal switched to Madrid and Milan for the second with Real Madrid fullback Marcelo providing an inch-perfect cross for Pato to double the lead.

Ronaldinho reached into his bag of tricks to help Brazil get the ball in the net a third time but after wriggling his way past three defenders his no-look pass was played a fraction late to Marcelo - who was already offside when he played in Pato for what would’ve been his second goal.

The Brazilian captain – who moved from Barcelona to AC Milan in the European summer - did eventually conjure a third goal, a low free kick from the edge of the area that somehow found its way through a forest of blue and white socks, and past Spoonley, untouched.

New Zealand continued to toil, but it by then it was Ronaldinho’s show and the twice FIFA World Player of the Year latched onto an Anderson header to win a 61st minute penalty, which he would duly convert himself for Brazil’s fourth and his second.

The Oly-Whites did enjoy extended patches of possession but largely in their own half, and while they did create chances, Brazil’s keeper Renan was never tested by Cole Peverley’s long-range efforts in each half, blocked shots from Simon Elliott and Chris Killen, and a few dangerous set-pieces.

Substitute Rafael Sobis added the final gloss on the victory by adding a fifth goal in injury time, but Jacobs is pleased with the way his squad made up of players largely from the New Zealand Football Championship stuck to their task against the world’s best.

“What they didn’t do is throw in the towel,” Jacobs said.

“The players weren’t in awe of Brazil but they realise they were up against the best in the world.

“I think Brazil were a level above where they were against Belgium and we looked a bit tired.

“The China match took a lot more out of us than we expected but that’s understandable given we played most of that game with ten men.”

Men’s Olympic Football Tournament: Group C
Shenyang Olympic Stadium
Sunday 10 August

New Zealand 0 Brazil 5 (Anderson 3, Alexandre Pato 32, Ronaldinho 55, 61-pen, Rafael Sobis 90+3)

New Zealand: 1-Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 2-Aaron SCOTT (9-Daniel ELLENSOHN 62), 5-Ryan NELSEN (Captain), 6-Michael BOXALL, 3-Ian HOGG, 11-Jeremy BROCKIE, 4-Cole PEVERLEY, 7-Simon ELLIOTT, 13-Shaun VAN ROOYEN (16-Sam JENKINS 46), 8-Craig HENDERSON, 10-Chris KILLEN (15-Greg DRAPER 46).
Substitutes not used: 14-Cole TINKLER, 17-Sam MESSAM, 18-Liam LITTLE (RGK).
Not available: 12-Steven OLD (suspended).
Coach: Stu Jacobs
Cautions: Jeremy BROCKIE, Sam JENKINS

Brazil: 12-RENAN (GK), 2-RAFINHA (13-ILSINHO 66), 3-ALEX SILVA, 5-HERNANES, 6-MARCELO, 7-ANDERSON, 8-LUCAS, 9-ALEXANDRE PATO (17-RAFAEL SOBIS 71), 10-RONALDINHO (Captain), 14-BRENO, 15-DIEGO (16-THIAGO NEVES 71).
Substitutes not used: 1-DIEGO ALVES (RGK), 4-THIAGO SILVA, 11-RAMIRES, 18-JO

Story provided by NZF Media. For full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

Standings:

Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	2	2	0	0	6	0	6	6
China	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
New Zealand	2	0	1	1	1	6	-5	1
Belgium	1	0	0	1	0	1	-1	0

Photos provided by FIFA Media. For more visit www.fifa.com

AUCKLAND – A second half Jeremy Brockie strike put ten-man New Zealand on course to spoil China’s Olympic party until a late header from Manchester United forward Dong Fangzhuo held the gutsy Oly-Whites to a 1-1 draw in Shenyang on Thursday night.

Fangzhuo’s 87th minute equaliser was a cruel blow for a New Zealand side who may not have been expected to take the lead on the weight of possession but deserved to hang on to it through sheer grit and determination.

New Zealand took the lead in the 53rd minute when Brockie laced a first time volley past Qiu Shengjiong in the Chinese goal after the quietly influential Craig Henderson dinked a clever pass over the hosts’ defence.

It was the first open-play chance for the Oly-Whites but Brockie didn’t waste the opportunity to silence the 60,000 strong capacity crowd at Shenyang Olympic Stadium.

“You don’t get many chances at international level,” Brockie said, “so you’ve got to take them.”

New Zealand played most of the match a player short, losing Steven Old to a second yellow card after just 37 minutes, but never lost their composure on the way to claiming a share of the points on their Olympic debut.

Old's raised arm help control a sharply rising ball outside the area and whether it was a lapse of judgement or a reflex action, a second yellow card was a harsh response from the Uruguayan official who dished out six cautions in the first half alone.

The centre-back will now miss New Zealand’s second Group C match against the Ronaldinho-led Brazilians on Sunday night, while three other Oly-Whites sit on yellow cards heading into the fixture.

China were firm favourites heading into the match but the weight of expectation did not appear to sit comfortably with the hosts, for while they started brightest and shaded Stu Jacobs men in the first half statistics, the longer New Zealand soaked up pressure the more it built on China.

New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen applauded the way his predominately younger team-mates responded to the occasion and to the first half set-back of Old’s dismissal.

“The game went pretty much as we expected in the beginning,” said Nelsen.

“The first 25 minutes were hectic and they threw everything at us.
“The referee made a bit of a mistake and that meant we had to dig deep. But this group have an unbelievable team spirit and they were too proud to crumble.

“Hopefully they made a few people at home proud too.”

In a frantic opening, Han Peng blasted a fourth minute header onto the cross bar from Hao Junmin’s freekick and Jacob Spoonley was forced to save well at close range from Gao Lin just three minutes later.

Simon Elliott had the best chance for the Kiwis in the first half, but couldn’t extract quite enough bend on his 44th minute free kick to curl it inside Qiu’s upright.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, and a re-jigged 4-4-1 formation, the Oly-Whites produced sustained periods of pressure through territory and possession, with the 20 minutes after halftime New Zealand’s liveliest patch.

Chris Killen blasted a 64th minute free-kick around the wall to force a sharp save from Qiu while at the other end a telling tackle by Ryan Nelsen on Jiang Ning in his own six yard box was the pick of a resilient defensive effort that kept China at bay until Fangzhuo – a 78th minute substitute – broke New Zealand hearts with his 12 yard looping header.

New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs had nothing but praise for his team.
“In my 12 years as a coach I’ve never seen a performance like tonight’s,” Jacobs said.

“We were three minutes away from making history."

The result keeps New Zealand within two points of Group C leaders Brazil, who needed a 79th minute Hernanes strike to overcome nine-man Belgium in an earlier kick-off.

Photos: Getty Images

Men’s Olympic Football Tournament: Group C
Shenyang Olympic Stadium
Thursday 7 August 
Referee: Martin VAZQUEZ (Uruguay)

New Zealand 1 (Jeremy Brockie 53) China 1 (Dong Fangzhuo 87)

New Zealand: 1-Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 2-Aaron SCOTT (14-Cole TINKLER 81), 5-Ryan NELSEN (Captain), 12-Steven OLD (6-Michael BOXALL 41), 3-Ian HOGG, 16-Sam JENKINS, 4-Cole PEVERLEY (13-Shaun VAN ROOYEN 79), 7-Simon ELLIOTT, 8-Craig HENDERSON, 11-Jeremy BROCKIE, 10-Chris KILLEN.
Substitutes not used: 9-Daniel ELLENSOHN, 15-Greg DRAPER, 17-Sam MESSAM, 18-Liam LITTLE (GK).
Coach: Stu JACOBS

Cautions: Chris KILLEN 24, Steven OLD 28/38, Ian HOGG 89, Jeremy BROCKIE 90+2

Red Cards: Steven OLD 38

China: 1-QIU Shengjiong (GK), 2-TAN Wangsong, 3-FENG Xiaoting, 4-YUAN Weiwei, 5-LI Weifeng, 6-ZHOU Haibin, 7-HAO Junmin (11-CHEN Tao 56), 8-ZHENG Zhi, 9-GAO Lin (15-JIANG Ning 55), 10-HAN Peng (17-DONG Fangzhuo 78), 12-CUI Peng.
Substitutes not used: 13-LU Jianjun, 14-WAN Houliang, 16-ZHAO Xuri, 18-LIU Zhenli (GK).
Coach: Ratomir DUJKOVIC

Cautions: ZHOU Haibin 23, LI Weifeng 24, FENG Xiaoting 45, YUAN Weiwei 90+2

Group C Standings

Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts
Brazil	1	1	0	0	1	0	3
New Zealand	1	0	1	0	1	1	1
China	1	0	1	0	1	1	1
Belgium	1	0	0	1	0	1	0

Story Provided by NZF Media. For Full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

Photos courtesy of FIFA Media. For more visit www.fifa.com

AUCKLAND - The Oly-Whites will concentrate on clearing away distractions – wanted and unwanted – and focus on their on-field mission of getting a result against Olympic hosts China in Shenyang on Thursday night.

New Zealand’s U-23 footballers could be forgiven for being swayed by the local media attention that invariably comes with playing the host nation the day before the Olympic Games opening ceremony or even the hostile 60,000 strong crowd awaiting them at Shenyang Olympic Stadium.

They might also be distracted by their eye-opening Olympic Village experience or the training ground injury that looks set to rule defender Jack Pelter out of the tournament, but New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs says the focus will be entirely on winning come kick-off.

“The team needs to bottle all that off-field stuff and concentrate on the task at hand which is beating China,” Jacobs said.

“We know what we need to do but we temper that with knowledge of the size of the challenge.

“The focus for Chinese football has been on the Olympic team rather the national team and the country is expecting a medal. They’ve been preparing for four years and have played around 90 internationals in that time.”

With just two teams progressing from a group that also contains heavyweights Brazil and a Belgium side that the TAB has ranked fifth favourite to claim the gold medal, New Zealand’s first game is crucial for their second-round aspirations.

“It’ll be bloody tough to beat China, but we need a result to give us a chance getting into the next round.”

During the Oly-Whites’ three day stay in the Beijing’s Olympic Village, the team received some advice from New Zealand Olympic Team mentor Sarah Ulmer to help their focus.

“Sarah spoke to the team about walking on to the field and taking 10-15 seconds to remember why they’re here. By all means, soak up the atmosphere but then push it aside and doing the job,” Jacobs said.

With the weight of expectation squarely on the shoulders of the home side, Jacobs saw the first 30 minutes as the most important for his side as they look to find their feet and build pressure on China.

“What we’ve shown over our build-up is that once we’re past the 25 minute mark and weather that very intense period of the game we can get the ball and play a bit.”

“We need to stay in touch, either level or a goal either side of them and we’ll have every chance.”

“We’ve shown against Australia, Central Coast and through the Indonesian leg that we can create chances, but that first half hour is critical for us.”

“We’re not silly – we’re going to be without the ball for long periods but it [defence] hasn’t been the sole focus on the training pitch.

We’ve got players who are potentially very good with the ball and we’ll have a right go at China.”

With just two foreign based players in the China squad, the names of Manchester United forward Dong Fangzhou – who scored 25 goals on a two-year loan with Belgian side Royal Antwerp – and over-age Charlton midfielder Zheng Zhi will be the names most likely to sound familiar to kiwi fans.

Aside from Jack Pelter – whose injury-forced replacement in the 18-man squad by Wellington Phoenix Greg Draper is yet to be confirmed by the IOC and FIFA – Jacobs has a full squad to choose from heading into their Olympic debut.

Men’s Olympic Football Tournament: Group C
Shenyang Olympic Stadium
Thursday 7 August 7:45 local (11.45pm NZ time)
Live on Freeview and tvnz.co.nz.

New Zealand v China

New Zealand: (from) 1-Jacob SPOONLEY (GK), 2-Aaron SCOTT, 3-Ian HOGG, 4-Cole PEVERLEY, 5-Ryan NELSEN (Captain), 6-Michael BOXALL, 7-Simon ELLIOTT, 8-Craig HENDERSON, 9-Daniel ELLENSOHN, 10-Chris KILLEN, 11-Jeremy BROCKIE, 12-Steven OLD, 13-Shaun VAN ROOYEN, 14-Cole TINKLER, 15-Jack PELTER/Greg DRAPER, 16-Sam JENKINS, 17-Sam MESSAM, 18-Liam LITTLE (GK).

China: (from) 1-QIU Shengjiong (GK), 2-TAN Wangsong, 3-FENG Xiaoting, 4-YUAN Weiwei, 5-LI Weifeng, 6-ZHOU Haibin, 7-HAO Junmin, 8-ZHENG Zhi, 9-GAO Lin, 10-HAN Peng, 11-CHEN Tao, 12-CUI Peng, 13-LU Jianjun, 14-WAN Houliang, 15-JIANG Ning, 16-ZHAO Xuri, 17-DONG Fangzhuo, 18-LIU Zhenli (GK).

Story courtesy of NZF Media. For Full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

The following schedule has been collated from information provided by TVNZ. All three Football Ferns group matches are live on TVNZ Sports Extra (Freeview Channel 20 and streamed on tvnz.co.nz), while the Oly-Whites opening match against the Olympic hosts is also live on TVNZ Sports Extra. At this stage no live coverage has been confirmed for the Oly-Whites matches against Brazil and Belgium.
 
Following live coverage of the Football Ferns v Japan at 9pm on August 6, and the Thai Airways Oly-Whites v China at 11.45pm on August 7, TV Sports Extra will show delayed coverage of other pool matches from the women’s and men’s competition until noon on August 9. The channel will also carry coverage of other group and knock-out matches including the men’s and women’s gold medal matches live.

Match	Date – Time (NZ)	TV One	TVNZ Sports Extra (Freeview and web)
Football Ferns v Japan	Aug 6 -9 pm	Highlights	Live(plus delayed coverage 7am & 7pm Aug 7, 8am Aug 9)
Oly Whites v China	Aug 7 – 11.45pm	Highlights	Live(plus delayed coverage 6am & 6pm Aug 8)
Football Ferns v Norway	Aug 9 – 11.45 pm	Highlights	Live
Oly Whites v Brazil	Aug 10 – 9pm	Time TBC	-
Football Ferns v USA	Aug 12 – 11.45 pm	Highlights	Live
Oly Whites v Belgium	Aug 13 – 11.45 pm	Highlights	Delayed 8am Aug 14

View TVNZ Sport Extra’s full schedule.

Please note: All times are subject to change. All queries should be directed to TVNZ.

AUCKLAND – A late first half goal from Jeremy Brockie spearheaded a New Zealand fightback but it wasn’t enough for the Thai Airways Oly-Whites who went down 1-2 to the Indonesian national team in Jakarta on Thursday night.

New Zealand’s U-23 side fell behind to their senior opposition after just 12 minutes when Firman Utina fired a powerful free kick past Jacob Spoonley with the help of a deflection from Cole Tinkler, and went two goals down through Bambang Pamungkas after half an hour.

Brockie brought New Zealand back into the game a minute before halftime with a low drive just inside the left hand upright of the Indonesian goal, and would have levelled the scores just moments later had Indonesian goalkeeper Markus Horison not got a touch to his next effort.

Neither team could add to the score after the break although Shaun van Rooyen (twice), Craig Henderson and Brockie went close to finding an equaliser.

Fresh-off-the-plane striker Chris Killen played 75 minutes and Simon Elliott came off the bench for the last half hour, with New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs pleased with the introduction the two over-age players.

“It’s really encouraging. Chris gave us a great platform up top. He’s a seasoned pro playing in one of the best leagues in the world and gives us the ability to go forward off his play,” Jacobs said.

“Simon’s been chomping at the bit to play but we’re just holding him back a wee bit yet. His organisation, quality and experience showed when he came on and even in training he’s taking the sessions up a level.”

Despite temperatures still topping 30 degrees as the sides kicked off, New Zealand had enough in the tank to finish strongly with Jacobs seeing it as a sign his side were acclimatising well and peaking at the right time just two weeks out from their Olympic opener against China in Shenyang on August 7.

“We came away with plenty of positives. We finished the game really well, had three or four gilt-edged chances and for the last 15 or 20 minutes the Indonesians weren’t even in it,” Jacobs said.
“I think physically we’re right there, we just need to turn those nearlies into goals.

“Indonesia were a step up from the Olyroos and the Mariners but I’m pleased with the way we competed against a senior national team.

“We created some really good opportunities from some promising passages of play. We were getting the ball into Killy’s feet and our wide players played really well. They had two very sharp players up front but our players coped with what they had.”

The Oly-Whites finish their Olympic build-up with a match against Indonesian Super League club Persija Jakarta on Saturday night.

Thai Airways Oly-Whites 1 (Jeremy Brockie 44) Indonesia 2 (Firman Utina 12, Bambang Pamungkas 30). Halftime 1-2

Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta

Thai Airways Oly-Whites: Jacob Spoonley (GK), Aaron Scott (captain / Jack Pelter 77), Steven Old, Michael Boxall, Ian Hogg, Craig Henderson, Cole Peverley, Cole Tinkler (Simon Elliott 60), Daniel Ellensohn (Shaun van Rooyen 77), Jeremy Brockie, Chris Killen (Sam Messam 75).
Substitutes not used: Liam Little (RGK), Sam Jenkins.
Head Coach: Stu Jacobs.

Story provided by NZF Media. For full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

AUCKLAND – A travel-weary Thai Airways Oly-Whites side will look to restore energy levels after losing 0-2 to Indonesian club side Persikota Tangerang in Jakarta on Sunday night.

Persikota – a late change from the PSMS Medan opposition New Zealand were scheduled to play – scored in the 29th and 74th minutes to beat an Oly-Whites side still on a high from strong showings in their last four outings, including wins over Chile and the Central Coast Mariners.

“It’s a bit of a reality check,” New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs said.

“We didn’t play as well as we could have and we looked a wee bit ragged to be honest.”

“We were just too loose on the park. We had opportunities and probably had more possession than them but just didn’t use it well enough.

“We’re not accepting losing fixtures because we want to win every time we play but we realise we went into the game with players carrying niggles and had some fatigued bodies out there.

“The key now is to get people injury free and ready for Indonesia on Thursday.”

Midfielder Sam Jenkins left the field with left the field after just 20 minutes with a tight hamstring – which will be assessed overnight to gauge the extent of the injury – while striker Daniel Ellensohn also picked up a knock to an ankle and was substituted midway through the second half as a precaution.

Over-age player Simon Elliott – who joined the squad from London on Friday – did not take the field, with Jacobs preferring to give the 54 cap All White his first run against Indonesia.

“We just wanted to give him a bit more time really. He’s just got off a long flight and there wasn’t a great deal of value risking him in this game on what was a pretty average pitch.”

The Oly-Whites now face the Indonesian national team on Thursday before completing their build-up against club side Persija on Saturday. Celtic striker Chris Killen joins the team in camp on Wednesday and will be available for both clashes.

At the Olympics, New Zealand play hosts China and gold medal contenders Brazil in Shenyang on August 7 and 10 respectively before completing pool play against European dark horses Belgium in Shanghai on August 13.

In Jakarta: Thai Airways Oly-Whites 0 Persikota Tangerang 2

Thai Airways Oly-Whites: Liam Little (GK), Aaron Scott (captain), Michael Boxall, Steven Old, Ian Hogg, Sam Jenkins (Sam Messam 20), Shaun van Rooyen, Cole Peverley, Craig Henderson, Jeremy Brockie, Daniel Ellensohn (Cole Tinkler 66).
Substitutes not used: Jacob Spoonley (RGK), Jack Pelter, Simon Elliott.
Head Coach: Stu Jacobs

Story provided by NZF Media. For full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

AUCKLAND – The Thai Airways Oly-Whites have continued their encouraging Olympic build-up by beating reigning A-League minor premiers Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in Wahroonga on Tuesday.

After splitting a two match series with Chile’s U-23s in Wellington in early July, and being edged 2-3 by a strong Australian U-23 side on Saturday, the win is another promising sign from Stu Jacobs’ team as they prepare for their Olympic opener against China on August 7.

“It’s another encouraging performance,” New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs said.

“These games are all stepping stones to Beijing, but it’s nice to win them.”

“We’ve just beaten an A-League side and got very close to Australia so you can’t ask for much more than that considering our preparation.”

Daniel Ellensohn put New Zealand in front after 20 minutes with a wide free kick that curled into the box and inside the far post without a decisive touch from either a defender or attacker.

The Oly-Whites doubled their lead with another set-piece 14 minutes later, as a Cole Peverley corner took a number of deflections before eventually crossing the line.

The Mariners grabbed a goal back 15 minutes from fulltime, breaking down the left hand flank through former Wellington Phoenix winger Ahmed Elrich who pulled the ball back across goal for Australian international striker Sasho Petrovski to finish from close range.

Jacobs was pleased with the way his side backed up after Saturday’s loss to the Olyroos.

“We had a tough, tough game against Australia on Saturday and worked really hard in training yesterday so we had some tired bodies out there,” Jacobs said.

“We made a number of changes to give everyone a run but we went into the game with plenty of desire, and some clear goals.

“We wanted to press higher, and we did. We wanted to play a bit, and we did.”

The Oly-Whites fly to Jakarta early on Wednesday where matches against clubs sides PSMS Medan (July 20) and Persija (July 26) sandwich a clash against the Indonesian national team on July 24.

Former Fulham midfielder Simon Elliot is the first over-age player to join the squad on July 18, with Celtic striker Chris Killen arriving in Jakarta on July 23. Ryan Nelsen meets the side in Beijing.

Thai Airways Oly-Whites 2 (Daniel Ellensohn 20, own goal 34) Central Coast Mariners 1 (Sasho Petrovski 75)
Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga
Tuesday 15 July

Thai Airways Oly-Whites: Jacob Spoonley (GK), Aaron Scott (captain / Joel Mathews 46), Steven Old, Michael Boxall, Ian Hogg (Hone Fowler 20), Shaun van Rooyen (Jack Pelter 55), Cole Tinkler (Sam Jenkins 46), Cole Peverley, Craig Henderson (Sam Messam 70), Jeremy Brockie, Daniel Ellensohn.
Substitutes not used: Liam Little (RGK).
Head Coach: Stu Jacobs

Story Courtesy of NZF Media. For full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

AUCKLAND - Olyroos captain Mark Milligan scored a heart-breaking 81st minute winner against the Thai Airways Oly-Whites as Australia clinched a five goal thriller with three set-piece goals in Sydney on Saturday.

Milligan scrambled the ball home after New Zealand failed to clear a free kick, sealing the win after earlier giving his side a 25th minute lead with a well taken header from a corner.

Jeremy Brockie equalised twice for a largely NZFC-based Oly-Whites who went toe-to-toe with an Australian side drawn from A-League and European clubs.

Epitomising New Zealand’s disregard for reputations was fullback Ian Hogg, singled out by coach Stu Jacobs for his defensive job on dangerous Derby County winger Ruben Zadkovich.

Brockie’s first goal – a 28th minute header – was provided by from a wide Daniel Ellensohn free kick, but his second was all his own making, weaving past three players before coolly slotting the ball past Australian keeper Tando Velaphi six minutes after halftime.

In between Brockie’s brace, an Australian throw-in made its way to Adelaide United midfielder Kristian Sarkies, whose 37th minute volley from the edge of the 18 yard box gave the Olyroos a 2-1 halftime lead.

Oly-Whites head coach Stu Jacobs was “gutted” to lose but took plenty of positives from the way his side responded to the challenge of a highly fancied Australian side.

“They were a step up from Chile, and you’d expect that after something like 14 qualifying games through Asia,” Jacobs said.

“They’ve got quality all over the park, but we defended well as a group and forced them to go long at times.

“We’re creating chances, and taking them, which is pleasing but we need to be more composed with the ball, because we’re doing awfully well without it.

“These matches are stepping stones to the Olympics but we want to win internationals. That said, it’s another step in the right direction.”

The Thai Airways Oly-Whites head to Wahroonga to meet 2008 A-League premiers Central Coast Mariners on Tuesday, before travelling to Jakarta for three matches including a clash against the full Indonesian national team.

New Zealand open their Olympic campaign against China in Shenyang on August 7, before a marquee fixture against star-studded Brazil three days later, and a final pool match against Belgium in Shanghai on August 13.

Thai Airways Oly-Whites 2 (Jeremy Brockie 28, 51) Australia 3 (Mark Milligan 25, 81; Kristian Sarkies 37)

North Sydney Oval,
Sydney, Australia

Thai Airways Oly-Whites: Jacob Spoonley (GK), Steven Old (captain), Jack Pelter, Michael Boxall, Ian Hogg (Hone Fowler 78), Sam Jenkins (Joel Mathews 88), Cole Peverley, Cole Tinkler 65), Shaun van Rooyen, Daniel Ellensohn, Jeremy Brockie, Sam Messam (Craig Henderson 55).
Substitutes not used: Liam Little (RGK), Aaron Scott. 
Head Coach: Stu Jacobs.

Story provided by NZF Media. For full story visit www.nzsoccer.com

Although New Zealand will be competing in their first ever Men's Olympic Football tournament in Beijing next month, 'Oly-Whites' captain Steven Old will certainly not be over-awed by the occasion.

The confident, classy 22-year-old defender has not only garnered plenty of professional experience thanks to his stints in the Australian A-League with the Newcastle United Jets and the Wellington Phoenix, but he has been involved with the New Zealand national team setup for a very long time, despite his tender years.

Old, then aged only 17, took part in the Oly-Whites' previous Olympic qualifying campaign, when they lost out in a playoff to Australia for a place at Athens 2004, despite giving their big brothers from the north some awkward moments.

This time around, with Australia now competing in Asia, New Zealand were favoured to progress from the Oceania qualifiers. They did so in style, winning all five of their games in the qualifying tournament in Lautoka, Fiji. Not surprisingly, it was the tournament hosts who gave the Oly-Whites their toughest test, and it was only in the final minute of the game that a 1-1 deadlock was broken, by none other than Steven Old.

Old rates the current Oly-Whites, under coach Stu Jacobs, as even better than the class of 2004. "Both the teams had their own strengths. The last team had great morale, and of course I was a bit in awe of them at that age, but I think this [current] one has more depth," Old observed.

New Zealand have been drawn in one of the toughest opening-round groups in the men's competition, facing not only hosts China but South American powerhouses Brazil, as well as European hopefuls Belgium. "I can't think of a more difficult first-up opponent than the hosts," said Old. "Other than Brazil...and we play them next!"

"The Chinese will be pumped up for it...the crowd will be their 12th man, no doubt."

What we may lack technically, we'll make up for with our physical attributes, our fitness

Oly-Whites captain Steven Old explains his team's strengths

Old believes that New Zealand will have weapons of their own to counter the home advantage of the Chinese and the sumptuous skills of the Brazilians. " What we may lack technically, we'll make up for with our physical attributes, our fitness," Old explained. "We're going in how we want to go in."

After being released from Wellington Phoenix earlier this year, Old is currently keeping himself match-fit playing with the Macarthur Rams in the New South Wales Premier League, along with two Oly-White colleagues, striker Costa Barbarouses and goalkeeper Roy Bell. Yet Old's ambitions stretch beyond the confines of Australasia. He is keen on a move to Europe, and hopes that the Olympics will provide a shop window for himself and some of his colleagues. "There are quality players in the team who can make it to Europe," he said. "And they will make it, I believe."

An intriguing sub-plot to New Zealand's Olympic journey will involve their battle for bragging rights with Australia, the team that has so often denied them a place at the Olympics in the past. Australia have also been drawn in a tough group, alongside defending champions Argentina, and Old admitted that his side would be watching the progress of their old rivals with great interest. Many of the Oly-Whites ply their trade in Australia and know the 'Olyroos' well, and Stu Jacobs' men will be playing the Australians on 12 July in Sydney as part of their Olympic preparations.

"We really want to get one over them, however much we've been mates back here," laughed Old. "We're in the same boat, of course," he added, alluding to the two teams' underdog status in their respective groups.

Underdogs the Oly-Whites certainly are, but one wouldn't know it from Old's calm assessment of his team's chances.

"Once we know what to expect, once we get used to it, we won't struggle," he said.

WELLINGTON – The Thai Airways Oly-Whites are steadying themselves for Wednesday’s first clash against a Chilean U-23 side in hot form and with a taste for ‘the physical stuff’.

Chile touched down in Wellington on Tuesday fresh from a 4-3 win and a 1-1 draw against the Olyroos in Darwin, with New Zealand coach Stu Jacobs certain of the South Americans’ quality.

“That Olyroos side is full of A-League players and European pros so they’re potentially very strong,” said Jacobs.

“We’ve played South American sides - including Chile - before [as U-20s] and we know Chile will be technically very good and very quick. They also only just pipped by Brazil for Olympic qualification.”

Chile’s opening match against Australia had almost as much fire as it did firepower with seven yellow cards dished out in the seven goal thriller, and Jacobs won’t be surprised if his side faced the same in their first competitive match since securing Olympic nomination in March.

“That’s the way Chile play. They like to duck and weave but when it comes down to showing who’s boss they like to make it pretty clear who’s got the upper hand.”

“To be honest we’re a little underdone given where we are in our build-up, but we’ve got good size in our team and the lads have been pushing themselves right to the line in training.”

“We expect a physical battle but we’ll be giving nothing away.”

The first match kicks off at 3pm at Wellington’s Newtown Park with a second helping on Friday night in Porirua.

Thai Airways Oly-Whites:(from) Liam Little (GK), Jacob Spoonley (GK), Roy Bell (GK), Michael Boxall, Hone Fowler, Ian Hogg, Sam Jenkins, Joel Mathews, Steven Old, Jack Pelter, Aaron Scott, Jeremy Brockie, Craig Henderson, Cole Peverley, Cole Tinkler, Shaun van Rooyen, Costa Barbarouses, Greg Draper (Wellington Phoenix), Daniel Ellensohn, Sam Messam.

Chile U-23:(from) 1.Gregory Saavedra (GK), 2.Marcelo Diaz, 3.Bruno Romo, 4.Eugenio Mena, 5.Bastian Arce, 6.Sebastian Mendez, 7.Felipe Seymour, 8.Angel Rojas, 9.Eduardo Vargas, 10.Esteban Paredes, 11.Boris Sagredo, 12.Fabian Cerda (GK), 13.Esteban Saez, 14.Sebastian Diaz, 15.Fabian Torres, 16.Sebastian Barrientos, 17.Lucas Dominguez, 18.Matias Campos,

Thai Airways Oly-Whites v Chile

Match One
Wednesday July 2
Newtown Park
Kick-off 3pm

Match Two
Friday July 4
Porirua Park
Kick-off 7pm

Ticketing Details
Gate sales only
Adults: $10
Children: free

Story courtesy of NZF Media. For more information visit www.nzsoccer.com 

AUCKLAND – The final leg of the Football Ferns’ and Thai Airways Oly-Whites’ Road to Beijing will wind its way through Australia and South-East Asia with month-long tours in July.

Building on a double-header against their Australian counterparts in Sydney on July 12, each side completes preparation for New Zealand’s first ever Olympic football appearances with games against Asian opposition before arriving in the Olympic village in late July ahead of their opening Olympic fixtures on August 6 (women) and 7 (men).

The Oly-Whites follow their Olyroos test with an even tougher examination two days later against A-League runners-up Central Coast Mariners.

They then travel to Jakarta where a clash against the Indonesian full national side is sandwiched between two matches against club opposition.

New Zealand Football is also in discussion with the Chilean Football Federation for two matches against the Chile U-23 side in Wellington in early July.

Meanwhile the Football Ferns tread a different path after their game against the Matildas, heading for an early taste of Chinese conditions with back-to-back games against the Olympic hosts, before moving to Singapore for games against Singapore and Canada.

After slowly piecing together the preparation puzzle, Oly-Whites head coach Stu Jacobs was pleased to focus on a schedule that provided plenty of opportunity to adjust to tough opposition and tough conditions.

“When you’re preparing for a tournament of this stature, teams are slow to commit themselves, and it can be tough to confirm fixtures. However, we’ve got a program modelled on teams we’ll face and gives us time in China to recover and get in time on the training pitch,” Jacobs said.

“The Australian teams will be very strong so it’s a great start for us and it keeps the relationship between the two countries going, which is important.”

“The Indonesians will be a good warm-up for our opener against China. They’ll be quite good technically and very quick. Conditions will be similar to China so it’ll give us a chance to acclimatise as well.”

Football Ferns head coach John Herdman echoed Jacobs’s sentiments about the value of acclimatisation, and about the benefits of off-shore preparation.

“It’s a great build-up and at a higher level than we had before the last World Cup. Every game will have a very clear purpose, with games against opposition of a similar ilk to our Olympic opponents,” Herdman said.

“The Aussie, China and Canada games give us further benchmarks while the match against Singapore offers the chance to practice different scenarios and ensure all our players see game time.”

At least one of the Football Ferns matches against China in Qinhuangdao will be at the same stadium as their Olympic opener against Japan, with Herdman identifying obvious benefits.

“China are a very similar team to Japan so it’s crucial we get into Asian conditions and get used to playing Asian teams.”

Final squads for both teams will be announced in early July.

Thai Airways Oly-Whites schedule

July 12 v Australia – North Sydney Oval
July 15 v Central Coast Mariners - Knox Grammar School, Wahroonga
July 20 v PSMS Medan – Jakarta
July 24 v Indonesia – Jakarta
July 26 v Persija – Jakarta
XXIX Olympiad
August 7: New Zealand v China PR – Shengyang
August 10: New Zealand v Brazil – Shengyang
August 13: New Zealand v Belgium – Shanghai

Football Ferns Schedule

July 12 v Australia – North Sydney Oval
July 16 v China – Qinhuangdao
July 20 v China – Qinhuangdao
July 23 v Singapore – Singapore
July 25 v Canada – Singapore
XXIX Olympiad
August 6: New Zealand v Japan – Qinhuangdao
August 9: New Zealand v Norway – Qinhuangdao
August 12: New Zealand v USA – Shengyang

Story provided by NZF Media. For more information visit www.nzsoccer.com

SUVA - He was lauded as an Oceania football hero in Noumea last week and now Christian Karembeu is championing the fight against HIV/AIDS alongside UNAIDS, Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and the Oceania National Olympic Committees.

The former Real Madrid and France international football hero gave his full backing to the Stop HIV Day at the OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament in March and the OFC Women's Olympic Football Tournament play-off between Papua New Guinea and New Zealand in Port Moresby on International Women's Day.

OFC with the help of host broadcaster EMTV covered the match live in Port Moresby - the first time an international women's football match had been broadcast in Papua New Guinea.

For full details of the impact of the OFC UNAIDS Stop HIV Day at the Olympic Football Tournament Qualifiers in Fiji and Papua New Guinea download this document:

 

Download here:

Stop HIV Newsletter Issue Five 

AUCKLAND - Benjamin Totori enjoyed a double celebration after his club Waitakere United went top of the New Zealand Football Championship (NZFC) following its third consecutive derby win over bitter rivals Auckland City FC at Trusts Stadium on the weekend.

Not only did the Solomon Islands and Waitakere United goal-getter see his club side assume pole position in the NZFC to go alongside its commanding position in OFC O-League Group A but Totori sealed the Golden Shoe Award at the OFC Men's Olympic Football Tournament in Lautoka with an impressive tally of ten goals in six matches.

Totori thanked his international team-mates for helping make his job of scoring goals a lot easier.

“The team played well so it makes scoring goals easier. Joses (Nawo), Joachim (Rande) and Alick (Maemae) are fast players with skill and it gives other teams problems.

The goals I scored show the whole team played well,” Totori told www.oceaniafootball.com in Lautoka.

Totori’s goal scoring feats at domestic and international level have not gone unnoticed outside of the Oceania region – Totori has been linked with an American A-League club.

The Solomon Islands goal-getter is coy about the possibility of continuing his football adventure outside of New Zealand preferring to help his club win the NZFC and earn another trip to the FIFA Club World Cup – Japan 2008.

“I want to help Waitakere United win the NZFC but it won’t be easy. It is very close and Auckland City and Team Wellington are good teams,” Totori said.

Second in the goal-scoring stakes was inspirational Fiji midfield man Malakai Tiwa.

With the host nation’s campaign falling short of expectations, Tiwa’s contribution in front of goal is all the more extraordinary.

With Osea Vakatalesau unable to find his XIII South Pacific Games form and Roy Krishna deployed in a deeper role behind the strikers, Tiwa won plaudits in the local media for his no-nonsense and committed approach.

Coach Juan Carlos Buzzetti paid glowing tribute to the Ba player.

“Malakai is a special player you can see when he plays that the team plays also. He could play in Europe, no problem.

If he had maybe two or three months to adjust, then yes, I think Tiwa would fit in.

When Malakai was on the pitch you can see his effect but after he came off (injured) against Solomon Islands, then you see the team changes and we have less possibility to win the game,” Buzzetti said.

A surprise amongst the leading lights is Papua New Guinea striker Tau Winnie. Winnie – alongside Raymond Gunemba and David Muta – turned out to be one of the tournament’s most exciting strike talents scoring a highly respectable six goals in five matches.

Six goals in a team that was not expected to provide too much resistance to the likes of Fiji, New Zealand or Solomon Islands was attention grabbing and left fans wondering what type of campaign Papua New Guinea may have had if it had defended with a less gung-ho approach.

OFC Men’s Olympic Football Tournament

Golden Shoe Award

Gold    Benjamin TOTORI (SOL) 

Silver   Malakai TIWA (FIJ)

Bronze Tau WINNIE (PNG)

No.	Player	Country	Goals
21.	Benjamin TOTORI	SOL	10
16.	Malakai TIWA	FIJ	8
10.	Tau WINNIE	PNG	6
14.	Roy KRISHNA	FIJ	4
18.	Costa BARBAROUSES	NZL	4
14.	Raymond GUNEMBA	PNG	4
7.	Alick MAEMAE	SOL	4
15.	Joachim WAROI	SOL	4
8.	Alvin SINGH	FIJ	3
17.	Maciu DUNADAMU	FIJ	3
10.	Jeremy BROCKIE	NZL	3
17.	Daniel ELLENSOHN	NZL	3
17.	Joses NAWO	SOL	3