The New Zealand Men’s U-23 side open their Pacific Games campaign in Papua New Guinea on Friday and Roux, who has played in the islands as part of the New Zealand U-20 side in previous years, says that experience will be important for a group aiming to seal a berth in Rio.
“A lot of us have played in the islands before so it’s not like anyone is coming in and not knowing what to expect,” Roux said in a session with New Zealand media on Thursday.
“That’s part of the reason we’re not taking anything too lightly. We know it’s going to be very tough with the conditions involved.”
With a large number of the squad coming out of a New Zealand winter, Roux – who plays for the Central Coast Mariners in the A-League – says priority one since their arrival on Monday has been acclimatising to the heat in Papua New Guinea with temperatures in the late 20s.
“It’s really hot over here and it’s been hard work trying to adjust to the heat but I think the team is ready to play.
“For me, and a few of the boys that play in the A-League, we’re probably used to it playing in Australia. For some of the other lads who play in New Zealand it might be a bit of a shock to them playing in that heat but the boys are all ready for it.”
Roux says the team aren’t shying away from any tag as tournament favourites; rather it serves to reinforce their internal focus.
“We’re taking pride in the fact that we should be winning these games. I think not going in as an underdog is an advantage for us, the boys are confident in themselves and ready to do the job.
“We know we’re probably favourites to win the tournament but it’s going to be tough in the heat and the boys are ready for a real tough game.”
Roux, who has seven All Whites caps to his name since his debut in the loss to Mexico in Wellington in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental playoff, says the group have been able to get up to speed quickly due to the make-up of the squad and the approach employed by coach Anthony Hudson.
“I think a lot of the boys are used to each other. All of the U-20 boys have just played a World Cup so they’ve been together for a long time.
“Other lads like me, Louis Fenton and Max [Crocombe], we’ve all been with a lot of the boys in the full All Whites squad so we’re all used to each other and I think it’s a really big positive for us that we didn’t need too much time to gel together.
“[Anthony] spent a lot of time with the boys in New Zealand and the boys in the All Whites trying to get everyone on the same page and playing the way he wants us to play and we’ve spent a lot of time doing that.
“All of the new boys have taken it on really well and everyone is on the same page. We’re going to put it into practise in these games and hopefully when we win the tournament we will keep progressing and getting better.”
The Men’s U-23s open their Pacific Games campaign on Friday at 2pm (NZ time) in their Group D clash with the Solomon Islands.
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