If you think about Hamilton, the last thing you think about is football. While commentators like to romanticise the idea of this ‘garden city’ (likely from the perspective of someone who is lucky enough to not have visited), it isn’t exactly a place you’d expect to see one of our biggest sporting stars to date.
Nevertheless, Chris Wood is expected to make an appearance in his hometown’s FMG Stadium this Friday, as the All Whites expect to top their group in the World Cup Qualifying stages. The Nottingham Forest striker is expected to draw a large crowd as his side takes on Vanuatu, thanks to how much he has excelled in the Premier League this season.
Just a few months ago, it seemed as if the world was against Forest’s chance at even staying in the league. None of NBC Sports’ writers predicted the club to finish above 17th, and Opta's Pre-Season Projections gave them a 35.6% chance of being relegated (only below the three most recently promoted clubs).
These predictions all seemed pretty accurate given the club’s poor performance last season, being the only club in history to score 32 points in the league and not get relegated, finishing just 17th. Despite the poor results, Wood’s contribution didn’t go unnoticed after joining the club at the start of the season from Newcastle United. The club’s top goal scorer that season, he scored 15 goals in 35 appearances.
While this doesn’t sound so impressive, this was a Chris Wood that has just recovered from a thigh injury. In the 24/25 season, on the other hand, we get a beast mode Chris Wood.
Bournemouth, Wolves, Brighton, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Leicester, West Ham, you name them, he’s scored against them! Forest, with the help of Wood’s versatile ability in the striking position, have propelled up the Premier League table as high as third. While a recent loss to Newcastle has seen the team drop to fifth, they sit only below Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
On top of this, Wood and Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo won Player and Manager of the Month for October, Wood being the first ever New Zealander and Forest player to do so. Furthermore, he sits second equal in the Golden Boot race, alongside Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Brentford’s Bryan Mbeuno on eight goals, and behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who has twelve.
The Hamilton homegrown really has been the talk of the town (or actually the world) over these past few months, but it’s also important to note that he isn’t the only New Zealand player in England’s top leagues.
The Football Ferns currently have three representatives in the Women’s Super League (WSL), even as the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) in the US continues to grow. All of these players, while not recognised at Wood’s level, have made great contributions to their clubs against some of the top sides in the world.
Firstly, CJ Bott has been a significant member of the Leicester City side since its debut season in the WSL in 2022. Although the club is yet to finish above tenth, Bott’s aggressive and proactive attacking-minded defensive plays have saved the team from losing many points. After seven matches in the 24/25 season, Leicester sits in eighth, above West Ham, Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, and Everton.
While this seems like an impressive effort, there’s still a long way to go before the club can qualify for any European competitions. Bott is likely to continue to play a significant part in this, with her experience and versatility in her role.
Another Kiwi player that brings experience to her role in the WSL is goalkeeper Anna Leat. Every football player knows how exceptionally hard it is to make it into one of Europe’s top leagues as a player from New Zealand. It’s even harder to make it in the most specialised position on the field.
However after Leat signed for Aston Villa for the 22/23 season, her impact was instant. On her debut, Villa was tied one all with Manchester United in an FA Women's League Cup game. Spoiler alert: Villa won the game. Villa won the game on penalties, because Leat saved four of them.
Leat’s dream of a debut paved the way for her to become Villa’s starting keeper for much of the season, swapping out with England’s Hannah Hampton on occasion. Villa finished fifth that season, above two of the ‘top six’.
The next season, Hampton often took the starting spot, and Villa signed another new keeper, the Netherlands’ starting star Daphne van Domselaar. Just a month later, in July, Hampton signed with Chelsea, promoting van Domselaar to the first XI. Despite her role, Villa finished seventh in the 23/24 season.
And so, in July this year, van Domselaar departed for Arsenal. Despite the door that seemingly opened for Leat, her struggles with injury have kept her away from the starting squad, limiting her ability to truly show her potential to the world.
Our final Kiwi in England’s biggest league is Indiah-Paige Riley. Riley recently signed with the newly-promoted Crystal Palace after a short stint at PSV, but it has taken her and the team a while to get used to the league, falling to Tottenham by four, Chelsea by seven, and Aston Villa by two within the first two weeks.
Riley was a continuous starting player, a laid-back right wing position suiting her well. It took a while for this position to pay off, but it was well worth the wait. Just this morning, as Palace took on Everton, the door opened perfectly for Riley. The failed attempts from Palace’s other forwards plus the fumbling from Everton’s defence plus Riley’s position on the edge of the box equalled the perfect opportunity to smash a goal home in the first minute—in which she did.
Despite some of the ups and downs, our representatives in the English Premier Leagues have continued to make us proud, and will continue to cement their names into our history as a footballing nation.
Comments