"Growing up it was very rare to see a player who looked like me"

Next year, the New Zealand midfielder could become only the second player of Indian heritage to appear at a men's World Cup

- SARPREET SINGH

What are New Zealand's realistic aims at the World Cup next year?

It depends on who we're drawn against, but I feel getting out of our group is a genuine possibility. Maybe in the past the team has gone to a World Cup with somewhat of an inferiority complex. However, this is now a new generation of players. The majority of the first team are based in Europe. We believe we can compete with the world's leading teams. Reaching the last 32 is achievable, that should be our minimum aim.

You were 11 years old during New Zealand's last appearance at the World Cup in South Africa 2010, what are your memories of that tournament?

We were unbeaten in the tournament [New Zealand drew their three group matches, finishing third in their group]. The standout game was against Italy, and we came very close to beating them. To finish ahead of the defending world champions was a great achievement. That team did the country proud and were very unlucky not to progress. We now have the opportunity to go further.

Will New Zealand be at a disadvantage given the level of opposition faced in the qualifiers? The team scored a total of 29 goals, thrashing teams like Vanuatu (8-1) Samoa (8-0) and Fiji (7-0)...

Some of the results were crazy. You don't tend to win international games by such wide margins. We are big favourites in these matches but ultimately, we can't control who we play. Our job is to respect our opponent and not take victory as a given. At the World Cup we will be underdogs, but we can use that to our advantage. As a group, we will need to rise to the higher standards we will come up against.

How would you rate your personal performances during the qualifying matches?

I was happy with my contribution. I scored two goals and had several assists. In these games we have the majority of possession and that suits my style of play.