Since their arrival early last week, Hudson and the touring party have been preparing on two fronts: adjusting to the unique conditions and refreshing their understanding of their tactical approach.
In dealing with the former, the New Zealand contingent have been training in either intensely humid conditions or dealing with monsoon rain showers but Hudson is pleased with how his team have made the adjustment.
“Every day it’s been either roasting hot and humid or torrential rain,” Hudson said. “We’ve done what we’ve needed to do and we’ve got through all the stuff we needed to get through and the players have been first class,” Hudson said.
Second on the list has been the tactical preparation of the group with Hudson using the week-long camp to continue embedding and progressing his philosophy, which is set to be deployed within a slightly altered system from the previous matches under the English coach.
Hudson says the approach for this match suits the mix of the players within the squad and allows for greater flexibility in personnel and pattern terms should the need arise during the 90 minutes.
“Our style of play is exactly the same but we’ve just tweaked the system a little bit and we identified the team fairly quickly. However, during the week players have definitely put themselves in positions where if ever I felt the need to make a change I would be comfortable to do that.”
Pleased with their week’s work so far, Hudson says the group – including New Zealand’s second all-time leading scorer Shane Smeltz – have built on the foundations of his previous trips with the team.
“The last two or three camps we’ve had have all been really positive in terms of how we’ve done things on and off the pitch.
“This time last year, not only did we not have any depth, we had players playing out of position, we had a weak squad in terms of numbers and we had a complete imbalance in terms of the age of squad in relation to Russia 2018.
“So where we find ourselves now is a much healthier position. We’ve got balance all around the team and we’ve got some competition in every single position so I’m really pleased.”
The hosts dropped their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier to Kuwait 9-0 last week but with Hudson steadfastly focussed on getting a positive result, he remains wary of a side which lost 2-0 to Korea Republic in June and one playing a rare match in their own country.
“This is their first game for quite a few years on home soil so there will be a huge crowd and there’s a lot of anticipation around the place,” Hudson said.
“Every game we play we want to win. The way we’ve approached this game is no different from the last one, we want to win.
“We’re just focussed on making sure we do a professional job and making sure we are not distracted by score lines and perceptions.”
Seven players in the squad could make their All Whites debut on Monday with Men’s U-20 World Cup representatives Sam Brotherton, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi and Alex Rufer joined by Logan Rogerson, a member of the current Men’s U-17 side, Harshae Raniga, Liam Higgins and Max Crocombe as players looking for their first senior cap.
The All Whites have met Myanmar twice before with a 2-0 win coming in Seoul in 1976 before a 1-1 draw in Kuala Lumpur in 1980.
Myanmar v All Whites
Monday 7 September, 11.30pm (SKY Sport 4)
Thuwanna Stadium, Yangon
All Whites: Max Crocombe (GK), Stefan Marinovic (GK), Michael Boxall, Sam Brotherton, Thomas Doyle, Liam Higgins, Harshae Raniga, Winston Reid (capt), Themi Tzimopoulos, Moses Dyer, Clayton Lewis, Michael McGlinchey, Tim Payne, Bill Tuiloma, Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi, Kosta Barbarouses, Jeremy Brockie, Logan Rogerson, Marco Rojas, Alex Rufer, Shane Smeltz
Story courtesy of New Zealand Football

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