Vodafone Fijian national football coach Christophe Gamel is anxious about the return leg against New Zealand in the FIFA World Cup qualifier in Wellington tomorrow.

Going down 2-0 in the first leg to the All Whites on Saturday at Churchill Park, Lautoka, the team left yesterday morning for the return leg.

Gamel is worried about the players playing another international game in a span of three days.

“These players are amateurs and it is more difficult to fix everything in such a short amount of time coming off a big game,” Gamel said.

“When I woke up on Sunday everyone was really tired as the game on Saturday was very tough.

“I am pretty worried about Tuesday because the main difference between professional players and amateurs is that professional players are used to this.

“Travelling, changing and recovering fast for the next game is all normal for them but it is not the case for our players.

“Playing just one international friendly game, the boys are tired and that is where you can see the gap between the two teams.”

The game on Saturday has taken its toll on players as Taniela Waqa and Remueru Tekiata are injured.

However, Gamel said the team need to play with passion despite the huge hurdle in front of them and they need to approach the game knowing what they have to do in order to stay afloat.

“We need to play with our hearts and take the pressure. It will be very hard because I lost two players to injuries so I have to fix it as soon as possible,” he said.

“One thing is simple, and we have to win in order to qualify. We have to pressure New Zealand in their home ground, it is a really crazy possibility to win but I have to see with the team how they are feeling.

“New Zealand only needs a draw so I have spoken with the boys and we have an idea of what we want to do but it will not be easy.”

Fiji will play New Zealand at 6:35pm in Wellington.

Edited by Osea Bola

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