Michael Woud has spoken of his pride at representing New Zealand in the FIFA U20 World Cup in South Korea.
The Auckland-born Sunderland stopper has been a regular for the under-18s this season and he started for the All Whites in their opening group game against Vietnam.
And although it didn’t go to plan with New Zealand held to a 0-0 draw at the Cheonan Sports Complex, the stopper is confident his side can progress.
“It is always a great honour to represent your country and it’s special to play in a tournament like the World Cup,” said Woud.
“We qualified well and we’re confident of having a good tournament in Korea, and we still have games to come against France and Honduras.”
He continued: “We are expecting tough games but we should be aiming to advance to the knockout stages.
“The matches come thick and fast so we need to make sure we’re on top of our game to give us the best chance of progressing.”
Woud will return to action on Thursday when the All Whites take on Honduras who suffered a 3-0 defeat to France in their opening group game.
