The imposing marksman has already played two of his West Bromwich Albion team mates – Slovenia’s Robert Koren and Chile’s Gonzalo Jara – during the build-up to South Africa and could face another in the Pool F opener in Rustenburg.
“I’ve only got to face [Slovakia defender] Marek Cech on Tuesday now and I will complete a hat trick of playing against all the World Cup West Brom players in less than a fortnight,” Wood said in his World Cup diary on the club’s website, available at www.wba.co.uk
“Funnily enough, I crossed paths with Marek at the Worthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria, when we beat Serbia 1-0. Slovakia were playing Cameroon at the same stadium straight after and he played 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw.”
Earlier, Wood played against Koren’s Slovenia in a 3-1 defeat at Maribor on June 4 and found himself being marked by another West Brom team mate, Chile defender Jara, just days later when the All Whites met the South Americans in their final friendly near Nelspruit last Wednesday.
“It was great to see him playing again after the heartbreak of missing the second half of our promotion campaign in England,” Wood says.
“Gonzo was solid, as he usually is when he plays for West Brom. Afterwards we had a little chat and it was good to see him.”
Wood knows he has a fight on his hands to complete his West Brom hat trick and see some action against Slovakia. Shane Smeltz, Rory Fallon and Chris Killen are the preferred front three but Wood believes he has given coach Ricki Herbert plenty to ponder.
“Personally, I’m really happy with the game time I’ve had,” he says of his roles in the pre-cup friendlies.
“It’s given me the chance to show what I can do and hopefully I can make the manager’s decision hard when it comes to selecting his team for our first game of the tournament.”
If he does fail to make the side, the 18-year-old can’t use the All Whites’ living arrangements as an excuse.
The team is staying at the plush Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate, a 30-minute drive from both Johannesburg and Pretoria, and Wood says it is very comfortable indeed.
“Our accommodation is very impressive and there are seven players sharing the five-bedroom house I am in. We also have a double lounge, a couple of bathrooms and a double garage.
“The house is mostly made of glass, is open plan and has a pool outside. We’ve got pool and table tennis tables up at the main building where we have dinner. We travel up there on our golf buggies, there is one for every two players.
“I’m living with goalkeeper Glenn Moss, defenders Tony Lochhead and Ivan Vicelich, and midfielders Andy Barron, Aaron Clapham and David Mulligan. We’re all very close and do a lot of stuff together.”
Wood says the team can’t wait to finally get their cup campaign underway on Tuesday.
“Everyone is raring to go. We’ll be looking to upset a couple of teams and make the second round.”