New Zealand host China on Sunday in the second of two friendlies between the nations in the space of four days.

The pair played out a stormy 0-0 draw in Auckland on Thursday night as New Zealand's centre-back Tommy Smith was shown a straight red card in the second half.

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Smith was wearing the captain's armband as he earned the 50th cap of his senior career, becoming the 19th player to bring up a half-century of appearances for the All Whites, but the 32-year-old defender had his landmark appearance curtailed in the 63rd minute when he brought down China's Wu Lei.

Goalkeeper Oli Sail was involved in the mix-up that led to Smith's dismissal - and accepted some partial blame - but the Wellington Phoenix stopper certainly proved his worth with eight saves on the night as China peppered their hosts' goal - his opposite number Junling Yan only had to rebuff two attempts all game.

New Zealand have not scored a goal in six consecutive matches, last finding the net in a 5-0 thumping of the Solomon Islands in March 2022 - this is the longest recorded scoring drought in the history of the men's national team.

Interim manager Darren Bazeley tried to quash any concerns this streak may have caused by writing it off as "a mental aspect" but it has been 656 minutes since the All Whites scored from open play against a nation outside of Oceania.

The strict COVID-19 restrictions in the region - something which the Kiwis share with China - have limited New Zealand's home matches in recent years; nevertheless, the All Whites have not won a game in front of their own fans since September 2017.

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These are China's first matches since July 2022 and the permanent appointment of Aleksandar Jankovic, who has been coaching China's international youth teams since 2018 and was thrust into temporary charge of the senior side after the departure of 2002 World Cup midfielder Li Xiaopeng.

The former Red Star Belgrade manager was at the helm for the mini-tournament held in the summer of 2022, which saw China lose to South Korea before earning a creditable goalless draw against Japan in Toyota and a 1-0 win over Hong Kong.

Fans may finally be returning to football stadiums in China since the coronavirus pandemic, but the sport in the country is currently embroiled in a sweeping corruption crackdown which has undermined the lucrative reforms that took place over the previous decade.

Acknowledging the low ebb of the national team, Jankovic paraphrased a well-trodden Chinese proverb in his first press conference as permanent team manager, by stressing: "I know that every long journey starts with a small step."

New Zealand have not beaten China in their previous six meetings, most recently tasting success in this fixture when the Asian behemoth last travelled to Oceania in 1990 and the Cork-born striker Noel Barkley scored the only goal of the game for his adopted nation.

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The huge absentee hanging over New Zealand comes in the unmistakeable shape of Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood; the Premier League goal-getter did not feature in the first friendly while nursing a hamstring injury which his national team's coaching staff are reluctant to reveal much about.

Wood, the country's captain and all-time record goalscorer, is the last player to find the net for New Zealand against a team outside their continent, converting a penalty in a friendly with Jordan 14 months ago.

Given the friendly status of the fixtures, White is not suspended after his red card but may not be tossed straight back into the starting XI given the clumsy nature of his cynical challenge.

Curiously, China did not name their starting XI until a matter of minutes before kick off, leaving their hosts guessing until the players trotted onto the pitch for the opening whistle.

Jankovic has put an emphasis on building physical conditioning and a solid defensive foundation during his first exhaustive training sessions as permanent manager, the Serbian coach is taking this friendly series as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers as China try to return to the global stage for the first time since 2002.

New Zealand possible starting lineup:
Sail; Boxall, Payne, Pijnaker; Elliot, Stamenic, Rufer, Cacace; Barbarouses, Mata, Garbett

China possible starting lineup:
Yan; Zhang, Zhu, Wei, Y Liu; B Liu, Xu, X Wu, Lin; L Wei, Tan

We say: New Zealand 0-0 China

New Zealand are ranked 25 places below China, but the hosts were arguably the better side before being reduced to 10 men - even if Bazeley's insistence that they were "awesome" is something of a stretch.

With the full compliment on the pitch for 90 minutes, New Zealand have an even better chance of avoiding defeat once again - although, that debilitating goal drought threatens to drag on if Wood continues to be sidelined.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Grey Whitebloom

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