The All Whites comfortably accounted for Samoa 8-0 in front of 5,327 fans at GoMedia Mt Smart Stadium on November 18, captain Chris Wood leading the way with a hat-trick as he improved his scoring average to better than a goal every two games - he's now netted 41 goals in 80 "A" internationals. The win saw Darren Bazeley's charges finish top of their Oceania World Cup qualifying group and set up a semi-final against Fiji in Wellington next March. But they were made to work hard for it by a stubborn Samoan combination which defended stoically and deservedly kept the scoreline below the double-figure mauling which many were anticipating. No one did more to ensure this than Samoan goalkeeper Pele Fatu, who pulled off some stunning saves inside the opening ten minutes, the first of them denying Marko Stamenic's stinging fifteen yard drive within two minutes of the kick-off. Three minutes later, Stamenic came within inches of affording the All Whites a flying start, his curling twenty yarder creeping just past the post after Callum McCowatt and Sarpreet Singh had combined on the right. In the seventh minute, Storm Roux rampaged down the right before delivering a lovely cross which saw Matt Garbett launch into a spectacular scissors kick. The ball arrowed goalwards, only to strike Fatu and ricochet off him up and over the bar. The 'keeper knew little about it, but he saved a certain goal, then another seconds later, brilliantly tipping Wood's header, from Garbett's corner, over the bar, the last noteworthy chance of the All Whites' opening barrage. Having survived the opening ten minutes with their goal still intact, Samoa dug in and made their opponents work for every opportunity, the frequency of which visibly wilted as the underdogs got blocks in here, feet in there, and generally frustrated their more vaunted opponents at every turn. Patience became the watchword for the All Whites, allied with intelligent off-the-ball movement - McCowatt was far and away the best exponent of this during the forty-five minutes he was on the park. He was involved in New Zealand's next attack of note, a nineteenth minute raid in which McCowatt laid Roux's cross back into the stride of Singh, who thrashed a drive narrowly past the post from the edge of the penalty area. Sixty seconds later, Garbett and Roux combined on the right for Singh's benefit. His fierce drive ricocheted off both Harry Chote and Fatu - again, the 'keeper knew nothing about it, but he was clearly living a charmed life. Alas for Samoa, their good fortune ran out in the 24th minute. Roux's cross was again met by Garbett with a flying volley, and while Fatu succeeded in parrying it, he directed the ball into the stride of McCowatt, who found the bottom far corner of the net with unerring accuracy to set the All Whites en route to their expected victory, one which ultimately matched the eight goals they scored three days earlier against Vanuatu in Hamilton.

One soon became two, Wood steering the ball into the far corner of the net in the 28th minute, Francis de Vries and McCowatt having combined on the left, with the latter's low cross ricocheting off a defender into the stride of the All Whites' skipper. Two became three six minutes later, Wood again responsible for Samoa's dismay. This time round, Singh broke down the right before picking out Stamenic with a cross. His shot was blocked, but the ball rebounded to Garbett, who unselfishly slipped it across to the better-placed Wood, who tucked home from close range. Five minutes before half-time, Stamenic sent a header flashing past the post on receipt of a near post cross from Roux which was the culmination of patient approach play by the home team. The All Whites encountered further stubborn resistance after the break from the Samoans, but eventually broke through again on the hour, after creating plenty of pressure, but without gaining due reward. De Vries got into the penalty area on the left this time, the overlapping fullback evading a challenge before delivering a cross to the far post. Half-time substitute Ben Waine headed it back across goal to Wood, who far walloped home a close-range volley to complete his hat-trick, a feat which earned a special from the local faithful. 4-0 became 5-0 two minutes later. Joe Bell's darting run culminated in a pass to Stamenic, who worked a slick one-two with Garbett before rifling home an unerring drive from the edge of the penalty area, a goal which was extra special to the goalscorer given his part-Samoan heritage. Waine's bid to get on the scoresheet soon after foundered on a smothering save by Fatu, after which substitutions and stoppages in play abounded. But the goals hadn't stopped, with the next one, in the 76th minute, a spanking fifteen yard finish from de Vries - his first for his country, which rewarded more industrious play by Bell. Eleven minutes passed before Elijah Just got on the scoresheet with a twenty yard thunderbolt after a jinking run, while Waine wrapped up the scoring from the penalty spot in stoppage time after Jesse Vine brought de Vries down in the area, Waine having just failed to get on the end of Liberato Cacace's cross from the right. It could have been nine in the last minute, Waine's teasing cross deceiving Fatu, who pawed the ball out to Liam Gillion - an eye-catching display off the bench. His shot was blocked to safety by the massed ranks of Samoa's rearguard, the last act of the match with Fijian referee Veer Singh blowing the final whistle seconds later to confirm another eight-goal victory for the All Whites, who are two games away from qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Finals. All Whites:     Paulsen; Roux (Cacace, 64), Surman, Pijnaker, de Vries; Garbett (Barbarouses, 76), Bell, Stamenic; Singh (Gillion, 64), Wood (Just, 64), McCowatt (Waine, 46) Samoa:          Fatu; Tolo-Kent, Setefano, Chote, Wilson (Tanielu, 72), Salisbury; Knight (Viliamu, 46), De Groot-Green (Fasi, 90), Mariner, Malauulu (Vaai, 46); Trainor (Vine, 84) Referee:     Veer Singh (Fiji)