Former World Cup player says watching son play in Vancouver will be ‘surreal moment’

Belgium and New Zealand will play in Vancouver on Friday night and both need a victory to assure themselves a spot in the knockout stage. Belgium once again will come in as the heavy favourites despite a disappointing showing at the World Cup so far. TSN's Farhan Lalji has more.

When Tyler Bindon takes the field with New Zealand to face Belgium in their World Cup match Friday in Vancouver, his mother will be watching from the stands and will know first-hand the pressure he is feeling in the moment.

Jenny Bindon represented New Zealand at both the 2007 and 2011 Women’s World Cups. Her 21-year-old son’s entry into the tournament last week due to an injury on the New Zealand team made history as the World Cup’s first ever mother-son duo.

“It’s a pretty surreal moment,” Bindon told CTV Your Morning Vancouver on Friday. “We’re happy for him to have this opportunity to be able to be here in Canada to follow his dreams.”

New Zealand is one win away from advancing out of the group stage. A win against Belgium could push the team into second place in Group G if Egypt and Iran play to a draw in a match that will be played simultaneously on Friday.

Anything less than a win for New Zealand against Belgium would strip the team of a shot at advancing out of the group stage.

“New Zealand is small, so when you go to the stadiums, we’re used to being a smaller contingency of support,” said Bindon, a former goalkeeper who also represented the country at Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012.

“Hopefully, the New Zealand public will get behind the boys today, and there’s so much happening back home in New Zealand, and the support is just immense, and I know it means a lot to the guys.”

New Zealand is currently 84th in FIFA rankings. Getting a win against the 10^th- ranked Belgium will not be easy.

Belgium has one of the sport’s most celebrated players, veteran midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, and other young stars such as winger Jérémy Doku, who will be making his return after missing the match against Iran last week for the birth of his first child.

For those reasons, Bindon says the Belgian team is under more pressure to win than New Zealand.

“This is one for the Kiwi blokes to just go out there and have a good run at it,” she said. “I think it’s going to be an entertaining one for the for the fans.”

With files from The Associated Press