Midfield playmaker Sarpreet Singh feels something special could be brewing in the New Zealand camp as the finishing touches are put on preparations for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.

The Oceania champions will kick off their campaign against Honduras in the early hours of Saturday morning (NZT) after an extensive build-up that has included morale-boosting showings against fellow World Cup teams Korea Republic and Mexico.

Singh and his team mates know the pressure of World Cup action will bring a different challenge to those friendlies but the rising Wellington Phoenix star is confident they will be able to handle any lift in intensity.

“Getting positive results has helped our confidence and I think this group is something special,” he says of the 21 players who arrived in Lublin this week after a pre-World Cup camp in the rural settlement of Gniewino.

“After the Korea Republic game, our goal was to continue building and to improve on and tweak little things within our system. I think we did that in the Mexico game and got the result we wanted.”

Singh personified that sense of progress, finding the net twice as New Zealand followed up a 1-1 draw with Korea Republic by earning an impressive 3-1 win.

That will count for little when the proper action starts in three days but Singh feels Des Buckingham’s side is promisingly poised for Honduras.

                   Sarpreet Singh celebrates finding the net for the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League (Photosport)

“We’ve set out our own targets and goals which are very realistic and I think this playing group can achieve them as long as we all believe that,” he says.

“I think the first game will tell us a lot in terms of whether we’re up to it but I strongly believe we will be and getting three points would be massive going forward. But there’s no point talking about the round of 16 or further when our main focus is on that very first game. We can only take one game at a time and give it our all, the rest will take care of itself.”

Singh can draw on previous experience of getting the better of Honduras as he is one of five players who also featured in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, in which New Zealand triumphed 3-1 over the Central Americans.

“We haven’t done too much analysis on them yet and I don’t think we’ll do a lot because our focus is on us and what we can do,” he says.

“But, from what I can remember from the last cycle, they’re strong boys, they’re direct and play for a lot of second-phase ball. So as long as we can cut that out and make sure we’re first to everything then I think we won’t have any problems,” he adds.

“I think we can really show what we’re capable of on the world stage.”

Match Details

Honduras vs New Zealand
Saturday 25 May, 4am NZT
Lublin Stadium, Lublin
Live on SKY Sport

New Zealand (from): 1. Michael Woud (GK), 2. George Stanger, 3. Dalton Wilkins, 4. Gianni Stensness, 5. Nando Pijnaker, 6. Dane Schnell, 7. Elijah Just, 8. Joe Bell, 9. Max Mata, 10. Sarpreet Singh, 11. Matt Conroy, 12. Cameron Brown (GK), 13. Liberato Cacace, 14. Leon van den Hoven, 15. Trevor Zwetsloot, 16. Dominic Wooldridge, 17. Callan Elliot, 18. Ben Waine, 19. Callum McCowatt, 20. Willem Ebbinge, 21. Zac Jones
Coach: Des Buckingham

Article added: Wednesday 22 May 2019