\u201cIt was just a freak accident, all of a sudden. I\u2019ve never had a muscle injury in my life, so for it to be the first one and quite a bad one as well, it\u2019s quite gut-wrenching, and it\u2019s been an emotional last 48 hours.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of tears, hard to accept, but just trying to soak in and enjoy the moment as much as I can being here and supporting the boys.\u201d<\/p>\n
All Whites midfielder Matt Garbett knew straight away his World Cup was over after a freak accident in training. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Garbett said he knew straight away his World Cup was over.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to believe it, but in my mind I knew that when I felt it, it was quite acute. Obviously went for scans that afternoon and was trying to come up with a conclusive diagnosis from many different opinions. It came back all pretty similar.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garbett said the injury marks the hardest moment of his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents are here. Seeing them in tears, from supposed to be starting the first game to being ruled out of the World Cup, it\u2019s not easy to take. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve sort of gotten better over the last day or last few hours, but obviously watching the game from the stands, there were some tears, wishing I was out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garbett said he is extremely happy for fellow forward Elijah Just<\/a>, who became the first New Zealander to score a World Cup double<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMe and Eli spend a lot of time playing PlayStation together from the Olympics in Tokyo. We spend a lot of the time together in camp.<\/p>\n \u201cTo see him do what he did today, I went straight to him and said, \u2018Goal one or goal two?\u2019 They were two unbelievable goals, and I always knew he could do that. Growing up, that was how he played. The dynamic movement he has came to fruition in today\u2019s game.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not the biggest guy, but he\u2019s got a very intelligent brain. He lets his feet do the talking through his brain. He\u2019s always one step ahead. So I\u2019m not too surprised I saw him score two goals like that. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of Eli-esque to be linking up play. He sometimes tries to overdo it in training, but that\u2019s what makes him such a good player is he always wants to go that one step further.\u201d<\/p>\n Garbett said the biggest positive from the draw with Iran was New Zealand\u2019s attacking intent.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were super sharp in the top third of the pitch. Something we\u2019ve not struggled with, but has not been the best in the last few games. Today, you saw the amount of chances that were on display. <\/p>\n \u201cTaking that into the next couple of games will be huge, especially the next one against Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n Nathan Limm<\/a> has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast<\/a> and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.<\/p>\nElijah Just scored both of New Zealand’s goals in the 2-2 draw with Iran. Photo \/ Harry How \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n