World No. 10 Belgium feature a host of household names, including Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku and Romelu Lukaku, but they have managed only two uninspiring draws against Egypt and Iran so far, meaning they must also win to advance.
The All Whites have had their moments in their 2-2 draw with Iran and 3-1 defeat to Egypt, and Bazeley knows they will need a complete 90-minute performance to avoid an early exit.
Bazeley said the All Whites came to the World Cup to play knockout football and have effectively been given that chance early.
“We can’t make any mistakes,” Bazeley said.
“There are too many world-class players on the pitch. If we make a mistake, we could get punished.
“It’s going to have to be a perfect performance in and out of possession. We’re going to have to be brave and courageous on the ball, and somebody’s going to have to take a moment of quality and score a goal or two or three.
“They’re under a bit of pressure. They’ve had two draws and they’re unbeaten in 15 games, so they’re on a really good run, but they probably haven’t fired as well as they wanted to at this World Cup.
“They’ll be fully aware that if they don’t win this game, they’re potentially going home as well.
Kevin de Bruyne of Belgium. Photo / AFP
“We came for knockout football and, in effect, we’ve got that – it’s just come a round earlier. Now we’re playing knockout football, where you win or go home.”
Bazeley is adamant captain Chris Wood will be fit to play after a late change at the pre-game press conference sparked concern.
Wood was due to front the press conference, but was replaced at the last minute by vice-captain Liberato Cacace.
It was a similar scenario to before the tournament, when Matt Garbett had been set to speak, but was pulled out because of an injury that ended his campaign.
“He trained fully. I’d probably like to start a rumour for Belgium to think about, but nah, nah, Woodsy is fine,” Bazeley said.
“It’s something we do with our shared leadership. Libby is vice-captain and Woodsy had a few things he wanted to do this afternoon, and it just worked really well for us for Libby to take his place.
“There’s no story. Chris will be playing.”
Wood is vital to the All Whites’ chances of winning. While he has not found the back of the net at the tournament, he combined perfectly with Elijah Just for his brace against Iran.
Elijah Just celebrates scoring his second goal against Iran. Photo / Getty
“He does so much hard work leading the line, but we haven’t really given him the perfect service or enough chances,” Bazeley said.
“We know when he gets a chance, he’s going to score. He scores goals – it’s what he does for a living.
“We need to feed Woodsy and get him into those areas where we know he can score goals for us.”
The All Whites are massive outsiders heading into the clash, but Bazeley knows anything is possible in football, as shown by some upset results in recent days at the World Cup.
“This World Cup has shown there have been lots of results,” Bazeley said.
“We watched South Africa beat South Korea and Germany get beaten. A team went from one point to four points and qualified.
“We have to believe we’re good enough. We have to believe we can go and get a win and achieve what we wanted to do, and that’s make history by getting out of the group at a World Cup.
“The opportunity is there for the players to go out and do exactly that.”
Ben Francis is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
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