Michael Woud is revelling in the tireless nature of the U20 World Cup fixture schedule ahead of their last 16 clash against USA tomorrow.
The Kiwi’s find themselves in the knockout stages of the competition for the second time running, having come close to defeating Portugal on home soil two years ago at the same stage.
Defeat to France in their final group E match on Sunday saw New Zealand rely on results elsewhere before their four points – from Vietnam and Honduras – proved enough to advance to the knockout stages.
And Woud, 18, who has made more saves (17) than any other goalkeeper in the group phase, admitted the intense nature of the matches has been a major challenge.
“We have done well the first three games,” he said. “Of course we would have liked to beat Vietnam but we responded well to beat Honduras which was a massive win and gave us a lot of confidence.
“While we lost to France in our final match we had to make sure that we played well and I thought we did - we were happy with a lot of things.
“We have learned a lot and I know we can compete with the best countries in the world,” he continued.
“The games come thick and fast so you need to focus on the next game that comes at you and make sure you are ready to perform at your very best.”
