Five Reasons for All Whites Optimism on Thursday.

Chris Wood

The intrigue around his late semi-scratching of Wood before the Wellington leg was one of the more intriguing sub-plots of the afternoon.  And when he did come on the difference was blindingly obvious.

That touch in bringing down a 50 metre pass at pace on the outside of his right foot was every bit as technically sublime as offered by the Peruvians.

He offers that rare mix of physical presence and skill.  As shown on Saturday, when he is on the field it affects how the other 21 on the pitch play.

There is no guarantee he will start on Thursday, and there would appear to be communication from Burnley involved in this, but he will almost certainly play more than 20 minutes.

The Away Goals Rule

Hudson’s primary objective on Saturday appears to have been to not concede a goal, and they got that.

There will be a lot of misinterpretation of this simple rule during the next few days but the simple application of this rule is that if the All Whites score a goal Peru needs to win the leg to progress.

Also, once either side scores we are not going to penalties.

See Chris Wood, above.

Cuatro años más

It is well documented that Peru has not qualified for a World Cup since 1982.  Last week that seemed like a bit of mischievous trolling, but seeing how jittery things got in the first leg once Wood started warming up, it has to be a valid factor when the second leg rolls around.

The longer the All Whites remain in the game the more interesting things will become.

As a famous Scotsman once said: Intolerable Pressure.

Momentum

One of the main disadvantages the All Whites faced when coming into these games was that they have little experience of playing against top tier nations in competitive matches.  And that really showed in the first 20 minutes.

Peru does this in every single international window.

But as the game progressed the momentum shifted, and the All Whites need to take that into the game in Lima.

No 10.  Really?

Peru are not the tenth best side in the world.

Tomorrow, the counter argument