Keys to success in USMNT win over Australia
USMNT beat Australia 2-0 in the World Cup. Jon Arnold and Lori Lindsey list the x-factors in the win that allowed Team USA to advance to knockout round.
VANCOUVER — Veteran striker Chris Wood assisted both of New Zealand’s goals in its 2-2 draw against Iran to open the 2026 World Cup.
Wood, 34, may be New Zealand’s most-capped player of all time, but that doesn’t mean he needs the spotlight. His experience was shown in his ability to track and lay the ball off to his winger, 26-year-old Elijah Just, who scored both of New Zealand’s goals. The veteran is willing to put his team first.
Wood doesn’t just help his teammates on the pitch with assists, but also with his experience. Wood’s extensive background with the New Zealand national team will be crucial for the squad still looking for its first World Cup win against Egypt on June 21 at BC Place.
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“I think it’s more of a helping asset of being able to give experience to the younger ones, the ones that haven’t been through this,” Wood said. “I think that’s the most I can give them, and then focus on my own ability on the pitch and trying to bring the best out of myself for the team.”
The veteran striker has amassed 45 goals through 91 matches for New Zealand since 2009. He came off the bench in all three of New Zealand’s group stage matches in the 2010 World Cup, finishing undefeated with three draws.
Woods’ goal tally comfortably makes him New Zealand’s all-time top goalscorer, 17 goals ahead of second place Vaughan Coveny.
Wood is coming off a club season bogged down by a knee injury. He still was able to score five goals across the 20 matches he did play in for English club Nottingham Forest. His most recent club season may not have gone as planned, but Wood had arguably the best season of his career just a year before.
Wood finished as the Premier League’s fifth-highest goal scorer with 20 goals during the 2024-25 season. And now, he’s joined a group of players over 30 — see: Messi’s hat trick; Vozhina’s seven saves — who clearly aren’t slowing down with age.
Derek Oliveros is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
