NZ friendly: Ryan Williams on familiar turf as Blue Tigers brace for Kiwi test

A visit to New Zealand for competitive football matches is a novelty for most members of the Indian senior team. However, Australia-born striker Ryan Williams is no stranger to the country and will be key to the Blue Tigers' fortunes in their two FIFA international friendlies against the All Whites this week. 

Come Thursday (12 November), India will face New Zealand in the first friendly at Go Media Stadium in Auckland, kicking off at 11:40 am IST. The second friendly will be played at One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch on Sunday (15 November), from 8:40 am IST.

Incidentally, the fixtures mark India's first-ever visit to New Zealand and will be only the third senior international meeting between the two sides, following encounters in 1981 and 2018. The matches come at a time when the two countries' cricket teams are also engaged in a full series in New Zealand.

For Ryan, who has made his presence felt since making his debut in a Blue Tigers shirt earlier this year as the first Player of Indian Origin (PIO), New Zealand is familiar territory. In January 2023, he was part of the Perth Glory side that played out a 2-2 draw against Wellington Phoenix in Palmerston North. David Williams, a familiar name to Indian football fans from his stints with ATK and ATK Mohun Bagan, scored both goals for Glory that day.

 “Every time I've come to New Zealand to play, it's always been difficult because of how far away it is from everything. From Perth, it’s a long way. The time difference is something you have to manage as well,” Ryan told AIFF media.

That experience has also helped the 33-year-old approach the current trip with a plan. With Auckland seven and a half hours ahead of India, adjusting to the local time was the squad's first challenge after the long journey. Ryan, however, has years of experience travelling across time zones, including during his stints in the United Kingdom and Australia, and has developed a routine to manage jet lag.

“My plan was to sleep for the first part of the flight - which was to Malaysia. I slept a couple of hours, then pretty much didn't sleep until we got here. It kind of resets your whole body clock so you can come here, go straight to sleep and try to sleep through the whole night. I feel good. ‘’I’ ve done this plenty of times before, so it definitely helps in situations like this,” he said.

The changing weather has been another talking point among the players. Auckland’s cool, wet conditions are familiar to Ryan but a new experience for several of his teammates. They got a taste of it during their first training session at the North Harbour Stadium Outer Oval on Tuesday. What began as a pleasant, breezy afternoon session turned into a chilly downpour halfway through.

“Having trained in pouring rain, cold and on wet, muddy ground, I’m used to it but these boys came out and it was quite funny. It was like a scene out of Cool Runnings,” he joked, referring to the 1993 movie about the Jamaican bobsleigh team competing at the Winter Olympics.

The Blue Tigers are also looking forward to the challenge of facing another side that featured at the FIFA World Cup 2026 following India’s meetings with Panama, Brazil and Uruguay during the last international window in September-October. They held Panama 1-1 in a creditable draw and then were beaten 4-0 and 6-1 by Brazil and Uruguay, respectively.

“It's a really cool couple of games for us. Coming off the back of playing Panama, Brazil and Uruguay, we've got that taste for wanting to play teams that have been in the World Cup. We've learned a lot from those games and know how we can improve,” he added.

Indian squad: Goalkeepers: Hrithik Tiwari, Som Kumar, Vishal Kaith;
Defenders: Abhishek Singh Tekcham, Akash Mishra, Bijoy Varghese, Jay Gupta, Mehtab Singh, Pramveer, Ricky Meetei Haobam, Roshan Singh Naorem; Midfielders: Anirudh Thapa, Ashique Kuruniyan, Jithin MS, Lalremtluanga Fanai, Lalrinliana Hnamte, Tomba Singh Haobam; Forwards: David Lalhlansanga, Edmund Lalrindika, Liston Colaco, Manvir Singh, Muhammad Suhail, Ryan Williams. Coach: Khalid Jamil