Jason Pine ahead of the All Whites final Football World Cup group match versus Belgium

Newstalk ZB's voice of football Jason Pine joined Canterbury Mornings live from Vancouver ahead of New Zealand's game against Belgium.

The All Whites must win against The Red Devils tomorrow afternoon to secure any change of proceeding to the round-of-32. 

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Mornings podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk Z'B.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Three o'clock tomorrow afternoon, that is when the All Whites
take on Belgium at the fief for World Cup and
New Talk Sis Jason Pine is in Vancouver for the match.
Can I Jason, John, have you got one foot at
in the departure lounge and one foot in the stadium.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Yeah? I know what you mean. I've very much hitched
my wagon to the All Whites. So if they go home,
I come home. I guess it's probably the best way
of describing it. If they go on, then I'll have
to have a word to the bath about about staying
on myself. Look, it's it's must win territory for New
Zealand tomorrow. That's the only way that they can stay

(00:51):
in the tournament. A drawer won't be good enough. It
has to be a win, a win and a win only.
So yep, win or go.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Home or go home. Back to the back to Wendy
Wellington as you may have heard. So what happened? What
happened the other day? Because when we last spoke it
was ahead of the game against Egypt and you were
quite hopeful.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
I was, and at a halftime I think I was
even more hopeful because I just watched one of the
best halves of football I think I've ever seen New
Zealand play, So it was almost as though what I
was hoping for was coming true. And that first half
New Zealand went into the shed's one mill ahead fin
Sermon good Christ church Boy heading home the opening goal.
But then clearly Egypt got a bit of a kick

(01:32):
in the backside during the halftime break. They came out
fight up in the second and equalized, then went ahead
and then scored a third goal. So yeah, it was
a very disappointing second half, quite deflating actually when you
consider how good the first half was. So look, I
don't know whether that has any context tomorrow, whether it
feeds them something they can learn from. I do know

(01:55):
that Belgium are a very good site. They're ranked in
inside the world's top ten, and so if New Zealand
were to get the win tomorrow, it would be right
up there in terms of sporting achievements by New Zealand.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
Although you were saying the other day that there's a
bit of disparagement among commentators about the Belgian team very much.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
So yeah, and they I think that they played the
same day that we did against Egypt. And yes, so
they've played two games at this tournament, John, They've drawn
them both Neil mill and won all and so one
goal in two games they've scored and it was an
own goal. So no Belgian player has yet scored a
goal and one hundred and eighty minutes of football at
this World Cup. This is a team, as I said before,

(02:35):
inside the world's top ten, who were expecting to you know,
I guess, stroll through this group. Egypt and Iran little
more than minor inconveniences, you know, New Zealand, goodness me,
they wouldn't have been worried about us at all. And
yet here they are now having to beat us tomorrow
if they're to go through. So what does that sort
of pressure do to a team like Belgium. It would

(02:57):
be like the All Blacks, you know, facing a group
stage exit at the Rugby World Cup. Imagine the pressure
on them to go out there and perform, and what
that pressure might become if they weren't able to get
on top of whoever they're playing. So that's an analogy.
I guess that you can. You can relate to this
game that a world superpower like Belgium should beat a

(03:17):
relative mino like New Zealand. But funny things happened.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
The other day. It looked to me, and you talk
about pressure, it looked to me in the second half
that the All White Star's got spooked.

Speaker 3 (03:29):
It's not about observation. Actually, I just I don't know
this to be true, but I just wonder whether they
didn't expect to be a hit. And you know, not
often have New Zealand been ahead of teams of the
caliber of Egypt or the caliber of Iran for that matter.
When they were ahead one, they'll add two to one
against the run in the first game. So it's almost
as though they don't have any frame of reference when

(03:51):
it comes to that. They don't know how to be
They don't know how to how to you know, extend
that lead or even defend that lead. So yeah, it's
a bit of a foreign situation. And you know, you
put it into the experience bank, and I guess you
draw upon that in future matches. Look, who knows, John,
this might be a World Cup too soon for this
group of players. A lot of who are still quite young,

(04:13):
but they have shann as I say, in the two
games so far, that they have what it takes to
foot it with teams much higher rank than they are,
and they'll believe that they can do the same tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
All Right, this might be the last time I speak
to you from the World Cup on the basis of
performances so far. What's your pick for the final result
once we get there.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
Yeah, I've loved watching France. They've just looked amazing to
me in the front third Killen and Barpe leading the line,
but just such a wide range of players. And then
you look at Argentina, who have scored five goals of
this tournament, and Leonel Messi's got all five and he
turned thirty nine this week. Hope for both of us,
John into the latter into the latter stages of our thirties,
that we can still perform in whatever industry we choose. Amazing, Yeah, exactly,

(05:00):
So those two are in the final last time. Argentina
and France the two of the front runners early year.
There are other teams obviously that will, you know, have
their say, but at the moment it feels like those
are the two form teams across Paul play anyway, They've
both got another Paul game to play in the next
couple of days. But they look good to me in
the early stages of the tournament.

Speaker 2 (05:20):
All right, Well, here's hoping that they have to book
a few more nights accommodation. Mate. Hey, thank you for
your reports and enjoying your broadcasts as well.

Speaker 3 (05:28):
Good on you, John, Thanks mate, Thank you mate.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
News Talks is Jason Pine.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
For more from Category Mornings with John McDonald. Listen live
to News Talks AB christ Church from nine am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.