While the Motherwell
squad enjoyed a free weekend there was no rest for Eli Just as he made two
appearances for New Zealand in their preparation for the World Cup.
On Friday the All Whites faced Finland in Aukland but fell to a 2-0 defeat. Our man played for 80 minutes before he was substituted. Press reports suggested there was plenty of room for improvement ahead of the second warm-up game.
The Monday evening
game against Chile gave the home crowd plenty reasons to cheer. A thumping 4-1 win provided an excellent send
off. NZ took the lead in the first half shortly
after Chile were reduced to ten. A
second goal followed before the break when the Motherwell man finished from close
range when he slid in to a ball into the box following a corner. Just had to wait four minutes for VAR to
confirm his goal and he can be pleased with his contribution. He was replaced with twenty minutes
remaining.
New Zealand were drawn
in World Cup Group G along with Iran, Egypt and Belgium. They won all five of their qualifiers conceding
only one goal. The squad will reform in
Florida for a final warn up match in 7 June against England.
Safe journey back to Fir Park!
