Red-hot Forest striker Wood targets New Zealand history at World Cup

WELLINGTON: Chris Wood has fired Nottingham Forest into surprise Champions League contention and now the striker wants to score the goals to help New Zealand make history at the World Cup.

New Zealand are strong favourites to qualify out of the Oceania region over the next week and reach the World Cup for only the third time. At the country´s two previous appearances at the finals, in 1982 and 2010, they have failed to win a match in six attempts.

With Wood captaining the side and leading from the front, he told local media on Tuesday that the current squad can finally deliver a World Cup victory. “That will be our goal if we´re there, to win a game and progress out into the group stages,” the in-form 33-year-old told Radio New Zealand.

“It´s the mentality of proving it, and I believe we can. The squad is only getting bigger and better, and moving on to bigger and better clubs. “They´re proving around the world that they´re good enough and capable enough of playing in the best leagues in the world.”

Wood is enjoying the best season of his career, hitting 18 goals in the Premier League and rubbing shoulders in the scoring charts with Alexander Isak and Erling Haaland. His exploits have helped propel Forest into third place in the table and if they stay there it would guarantee Champions League football.

Other New Zealanders playing in Europe include Marko Stamenic at Olympiacos in Greece, Tyler Bindon at Reading and Matt Garbett with Breda in the Netherlands. The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been expanded to 48 teams, ensuring a team from Oceania will gain automatic qualification.

To seal their place, New Zealand must first beat Fiji on Friday in Wellington before a decisive qualifier against either New Caledonia or Tahiti on Monday. “This team is probably one of the best ones that (we´ve had) in history,” said Wood, who has scored 41 goals in 80 games for New Zealand. “But they have to prove that on the pitch to class themselves as one of those. Making a World Cup is the way to do that.”