Meet the English coach trying to stop star striker Wood with Samoa

Chris Wood has scored eight goals in 11 Premier League games this season, bullying some of the best defenders around. Back in New Zealand, the task of stopping him in World Cup qualifying falls to English coach Jess Ibrom and his Samoa side.

When Sky Sports puts it to the man from Norfolk that he is up against the in-form striker in the Premier League, he can only laugh. “Yeah, thanks for that,” says Ibrom. “We will give it our best shot but the rankings do not lie. It is a big challenge that awaits us.”

Samoa are ranked as the 186th best men’s team in the world, according to FIFA. That is 27 places below their next opponents Tahiti let alone Wood’s New Zealand who they will also face during this international window. “There is a gulf, everyone knows it.”

But Ibrom is optimistic. They have already seen off American Samoa and Tonga just to get to this stage. “That was big for our credibility, even getting to play New Zealand.” The record against Tahiti is not good but second place would be enough to progress.

“It would be great to break our duck. We are going to have to play to our maximum to get a result. Tahiti have some very experienced players.” The matches are in New Zealand. “If there were a chance to play these teams in Samoa, it would be different,” adds Ibrom.

“But we have a very young group of players and it is going to be a great experience for them. We have an eye on the 2030 World Cup which sounds a long way away but actually is not. We want to keep this group together and be in prime position for that.”

Following the appointment of Thomas Tuchel as the new England manager, there has been much hand-wringing at the state of the country’s coaching school. But Ibrom’s story is a reminder that away from the elite level, there are those with their tales to tell.

“If I am being honest, I sort of knew where my career pathway was going to go in the UK. I was working in a non-League club, Kings Lynn Football Club, but I really wanted another challenge working abroad. I left the UK in 2011 and came out to work in New Zealand.

“Never in a million years did I think this would happen but I have worked at Wellington Phoenix and then I was technical director for the Cook Islands. There are lot of guys abroad, just trying to make our way in the game because it is so competitive in Europe.

“I always wanted to have those experiences abroad and the opportunity to go into different environments and experience different cultures. It takes you to some really weird, wonderful places, but you just have to be willing to go for it and adapt.”

Ibrom is happy talking tactics even if the thought of shutting down Wood is a daunting one. He mentions Paul Hunt, an important figure from his time at King Lynn, as well as the influence of Giovani Fernandes, the Brazilian working as a coach educator with FIFA. “He changed my train of thought in terms of how I see the game.”

But there is no doubt that the more significant aspects of his job are cultural and logistical rather than tactical. Just mobilising a squad of players is a major operation for Samoa given their resources. He is working to bring players over from Argentina and Germany.

“A lot of our players are amateurs playing against fully-fledged professionals from elite clubs around the world so you have to be flexible. You also have to embrace the culture, otherwise you will not last. It is about tapping into what makes Samoa strong.

“Aside from tactics, it is about connecting with people on a personal level. People here from the Pacific countries, it takes a while to build trust, but if they see that you are committed and want to do right by them, then they will give you absolutely everything.”

With a population of around 200,000, Samoa are at a disadvantage but the diaspora offers hope. In addition to the work of colleagues Alastair McLae and Russell Gurr, the task of finding eligible players overseas has been outsourced to a company called International Football Consultancy, They have been using artificial intelligence technology to help identify over 200 possible candidates.

It is about building the talent pool,” explains Ibrom. “Sometimes the players do not even know they are eligible. Sometimes they are on our doorstep but a player has popped up on the west coast of the United States so we are in discussions with him.”

There is Pharrell Trainor, an 18-year-old player from Germany. There is Harry Chote, born in the suburbs of Wellington in New Zealand, who had never been to Samoa but was eligible through his grandmother and is now discovering more and more about his heritage.

“It has been great for him,” says Ibrom. “We went down to the market on a Saturday morning and it was a really strong connection for him. Going to church with the players, these are powerful experiences. I am a big believer in connecting with the community.”

He adds: “I wanted to expose them to it for them to understand this is not just a football tour where you come along and play a couple of games before going back. Samoa has a strong identity. This should be an experience. You have to connect with the country.

“That might be going to church, outreach programmes, going to the villages. We have to do that. It is important. They understand it, which is really great. There have been a lot of cool moments as a result of that. You have to keep that local influence in the group.”

He believes it was a factor in seeing off Tonga. “I just knew we would qualify for this phase because the players were all in.” Of course, the next test is rather bigger. But Ibrom is ready to embrace whatever awaits them in New Zealand. “We have nothing to lose,” he says.

“Let’s be excited about it. Everyone expects New Zealand to win comprehensively. Let’s just go out and compete. It is a big privilege.”