Naturally, for our last few moments in Piha, we saw blue skies and bright sun. We cleaned up the Air BnB and piled into the vehicle as “Greg” drove us back toward Auckland. We had a few logistical obstacles to conquer since we arrived in town around 10am. Luckily the QT Hotel had one of three rooms available to at least dump all of our suitcases. Then, after dropping off the rental car at the Europcar downtown office, we caught an Uber to Eden Park.
The USA was set for its first match of the World Cup against Vietnam. My favorite American player, Becky Sauerbrunn, was not selected for the national team for this tournament (under dubious circumstances I might add), so I had a bit of a silent protest by wearing a t-shirt I had purchased in Vietnam many years ago. After all, Americans tend to turn out in big numbers for events such as this, and I figured Vietnam would be underrepresented.
As it turned out, there were a decent number of Vietnamese fans at the stadium, many of them eyeing me with curiosity and bemusement. Eden Park stadium actually has no parking lot, so all visitors needed to find some sort of public transit or other means to reach the site. Luckily we arrived with ample time to spare. We were able to acquire snacks and some merchandise. I doubled down on Vietnam by getting a match day shirt in Vietnam’s colors.
It wasn’t long before the match commenced, with the U.S. playing toward the goal on our side of the stadium. They scored twice during the first half, but if I must be honest, they didn’t look that sharp and frankly haven’t for some time. The U.S. team is a shadow of the squad they fielded in 2019. Many of the players are young and have never been to a World Cup before. Often times I just feel that they are just not as good as they think they are. Vietnam’s defense and goalkeeping did a respectable job of ensuring that this game did not tumble out of control as the USA – Thailand game did four years ago in France.
The second half saw a couple of Vietnamese attacks onto our side of the pitch, but I don’t think they ever actually had a shot on goal. The match ended with a score of 3-0. I wouldn’t call it a dominant performance by any measure. Based on their performance, I can’t see them advancing beyond the quarterfinals. Maybe the team is just nervous and hasn’t quite found their rhythm. Having sat outside in the chilly Auckland air, I hadn’t quite found feeling in my hands either.
Eden Park is the largest stadium in New Zealand and it was nearly filled to capacity. That’s a lot of people exiting a stadium en masse. Strangely enough, the lack of a parking lot and cars seemed to strangely expedite everyone’s exit. The roads were blocked off, so Ubers couldn’t really get in. We, along with many others, elected to just start walking. It took us a little under an hour to walk all the way from the stadium to downtown and the QT Hotel.
Just prior to getting dinner, we went to The Cloud at Queen’s Wharf that had other merchandise for the World Cup. The shop at the stadium today was more match-specific, whereas the downtown location had a few more options. I decided to get a New Zealand jersey. Just days ago, they won their first World Cup match ever, and there is an actual possibility that they may even advance to the knockout rounds of the tournament, which must be pretty exciting to have happen in their home country.
We got dinner not far away at a place called Dr Rudi’s. The town was really hopping now and places were absolutely packed. We were cautioned upon entering that we couldn’t wear any hats or hoodies after 10pm. Are people smuggling burgers out under their hats? We couldn’t really figure that one out. Perhaps there is an impromptu dress code that begins at 10pm. They run a tight ship here in Auckland. As we were leaving, we did see a lot of people dressed up as 1920’s flappers. I suppose that’s one way to ensure compliance with the rules. Tomorrow we leave Auckland for Waiheke Island. It was a very busy loud day, and our understanding is that Waiheke will be quiet and relaxing. We are all ready for that.
passports & pepto bismol 