West Brom pair go head to head in World Cup match
WEST BROM’S young striker Chris Wood was part of the New Zealand side which secured their first ever World Cup point today.
The 19-year-old came on as a second half substitute in his country’s opening game against Slovakia.
At the time, New Zealand were trailing 1-0 but an injury time header from Winston Reid produced a surprise result.
During his second-half appearance, Wood battled against West Brom team-mate Marek Cech, who started for Slovakia.
It is the first time Slovakia have appeared in a World Cup Final since Czechoslovakia was split up.
Cech’s future at West Brom is still uncertain but he hopes the World Cup will help his status in the Premier League.
“The preparation for this World Cup was much better because I played games for West Brom,” added Cech.
“It was a very long and very tough season but all the time we were playing good football.
“We will see how it will be next season, whether I will be playing at West Bromwich or not because football life is upside down.
“One day you are up, one day you are down. I think it will be very good if we get success here in the World Cup – I will be more confident for the Premier League if we don’t go out at the group stage.
“We will see how realistic that will be after the first game because that will be the most important game.”
