That is the message from coach Darren Bazeley after naming his 26-strong squad for the Fifa World Cup getting under way next month.
Bazeley visited Dunedin yesterday for a Southern Football event and told the Otago Daily Times it was a massive opportunity to represent New Zealand at their first World Cup in 16 years.
‘‘We’ve talked with the players — it’s an opportunity to inspire you now, the next generation,’’ Bazeley said.
‘‘We’ve had meetings in the last year where we’ve sat and talked about what inspired you to start playing.’’
Those conversations included Marko Stamenic and Matt Garbett, who were children in the crowd when the All Whites qualified for the World Cup against Bahrain in 2009.
Kiwi star Chris Wood and veteran Tommy Smith were in that team and are now Stamenic and Garbett’s team-mates heading to the World Cup in North America.
‘‘It’s pretty amazing for them... what they did in 2009-2010 helped inspire some players to become professional footballers,’’ Bazeley said.
‘‘That’s the opportunity that these players now have to inspire some of the younger players here in New Zealand to go on and become professional footballers.’’
Having players who had been to a World Cup before was crucial.
‘‘It’s important. It’s another reason why Tommy Smith, you know, gets brought into the squad as that number 26.
‘‘Obviously this is going to be a massive occasion, so I think having a few players with that experience is going to be really beneficial. But I also think this World Cup’s going to be different to probably any other World Cup there’s been.’’
Bazeley named his squad on Thursday and had a contrast of lovely and tough conversations with about 55 players in the running.
Looking back at the 2010 World Cup squad, several All Whites were playing National League football — now they are plying their trade in leagues around the world and in the A-League.
That came back to a shift in football over the past 15 years, where more players are ‘‘falling in love with the game’’ earlier.
‘‘The depth has grown. We have used a lot of players over the last, sort of, three years in our games, which has helped build international depth.’’
The All Whites have been plagued with injuries in recent times, notably captain Wood who was re-injured during a game for Nottingham Forest last month.
Juggling injuries is part of elite sport, but Bazeley would be crossing his fingers for no niggles in the coming weeks.
‘‘We’re just praying now that we don’t get anything in.
‘‘Not having Chris Wood has been difficult through the year. We're a better team if he's in the team and you could say the same about, you know, Liberato Cacace.
‘‘It's a funny one because we've never had one game where everybody's been available, not in the last four years.
‘‘At the moment everybody’s available and we’re going into the World Cup — the timing could be perfect where we get everybody fully fit at the right time.’’
The All Whites, who are ranked world No 82 and are the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup, have an intriguing draw. They are in group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and Iran.
Bazeley knew they would always draw a top tier team in Belgium, ranked No 9, but he was comfortable with the task ahead.
‘‘I think it could have been a lot worse. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy at all. These are good teams, it’s going to be a challenge.’’
The All Whites have history against Egypt having lost 1-0 in Cairo, but playing Iran, considering the current conflict, would be different.
‘‘Iran has been difficult with everything going on for them.
‘‘At this stage that’s the game we’re planning on playing. Until we get told differently it’s Iran on [June] the 15th in LA, so I think that’ll happen.’’
