Chris Wood on his place in history
Albion teenager Chris Wood has admitted his place in history is "still sinking in" after living his World Cup dream with New Zealand.
Albion teenager Chris Wood has admitted his place in history is "still sinking in" after living his World Cup dream with New Zealand.
The 18-year-old became both his country's and the Baggies' youngest ever World Cup player figuring as a substitute against Slovakia and helped the Kiwis grab their first ever World Cup point.
Wood, who joined Albion's academy less than two years ago, admitted his progress since then has been a whirlwind.
He said: "I'm over the moon. Just playing at a World Cup at the age of 18 is amazing enough but to be part of New Zealand football history is incredible.
"Everyone is so proud to be the first Kiwi team to pick up a point at a major tournament thanks to our last-gasp 1-1 draw against Slovakia - it's so good for our country.
"On a personal note, it's an honour to be the youngest ever player to have featured at a World Cup - for both club and country.
"It's been just over a year since I made my Premier League debut. It's all taking a bit of sinking in but it's an amazing experience and a great achievement for me.
"I'm just buzzing."
The game saw Wood go head-to-head with Albion team-mate Marek Cech, with the teenager landing a souvenir afterwards.
Wood said: "After the final whistle I swapped shirts with Marek. We had a few tussles during the match and afterwards had a nice little chat and said good luck to each other for the rest of the World Cup.
"I've become good friends with Marek over the last two years at the Hawthorns. He's always been very supportive of my game and it's nice to see him doing well with Slovakia.
"I've got three or four shirts that I've swapped with players now in my short career. I also got Gianluca Zambrotta's shirt from when we played Italy in the build up to the Confederations Cup last year.
"But Marek's is the one I will treasure most. It is a great momento to have from such a special day."
Wood confirmed the draw has caught the imagination of the New Zealand sporting public.
He said: "I've had a lot of texts from the Albion lads. The support from people at the club has been amazing and I've had loads of calls from people in New Zealand.
"The reaction back in New Zeland has been huge. Everyone is so excited that we've got a point at the World Cup.
"It's made all the headlines on the news programmes in New Zealand. And we're proud to be doing it for our country.
"We enjoyed the game and it was nice to have a think back over what we've achieved.
"Now we are focusing on the Italy game on Sunday and the hard work starts all over again."
