New Zealand's number one player Chris Wood has left the national team early to return to England due to a hematoma in his thigh, meaning he will definitely miss the second round of warm-up matches against the Chinese national soccer team, according to New Zealand's media outlet, The Courier. So far, New Zealand has had two absolute starters decide to miss the match, which will be a perfect opportunity for the Chinese national soccer team to win the match.
Last week, Chris Wood was injured during the Nottingham Forest game. Since then, although he has returned to New Zealand, he has not appeared in the first round of matches against the national soccer team. As New Zealand's number one player and top scorer, his absence has obvious implications for New Zealand, as it means that all of New Zealand's strongest forward line has been "scrapped".
As well as Chris Wood, New Zealand's other main striker, Ben Wayne, is also unavailable. With these two main strikers out, New Zealand's offense can only rely on players like Barbarossa to "guest" in the game. New Zealand's offense can only rely on players like Barbarossa to "guest", resulting in a significant decrease in goal-scoring ability, which was already reflected in the match against the national soccer team.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's veteran defender Smith has been suspended for receiving a red card in the match against the national soccer team, and he will not be able to participate in the match against the national soccer team. Thus, before the match started, New Zealand already had two starters hanging high on the waivers, which was definitely good news for the national soccer team to win the match. With a severely depleted squad of opponents, it is not only an opportunity but also a task of confidence for Jankovic and the national soccer team to win against an opponent that is ranked more than 20 places below the national soccer team in the world.
