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Dramas continue for All Whites in Peru as team bus gets stuck

Author
Michael Burgess,
Publish Date
Wed, 15 Nov 2017, 11:55AM
The All Whites team bus gets stuck at the venue for tomorrow's playoff against Peru in Lima.
The All Whites team bus gets stuck at the venue for tomorrow's playoff against Peru in Lima.

Dramas continue for All Whites in Peru as team bus gets stuck

Author
Michael Burgess,
Publish Date
Wed, 15 Nov 2017, 11:55AM

Whatever is happening behind the scenes, the physiological warfare continues in Peru.

No one is suggesting there is anything deliberate or untoward going on, but there were more logistical dramas for the All Whites on Tuesday (local time).

As the team's advance party arrived to set up for training and the captain's run, the keys for the stadium gates were mysteriously misplaced.

READ MORE: Peru locals put a curse on the All Whites

They were finally located almost 30 minutes later, eventually allowing the group into the field to set up.

The All Whites' bus was also running late, and the local Fifa match commissioner suggested that if the team were too late, they wouldn't be able to hold their captain's run.

But the most bizarre incident happened when the All Whites eventually arrived for their training.

Their driver decided to use a different gate to Estadio Nacional to the one used earlier by the Peruvian team, and drove further along the road.

But their double decker was too high to fit into the entrance, as the driver tried four or five times to the jeers and whistles of assembled fans and the bemusement of the huge gathering of local media.

READ MORE: Winston Reid reminds Peru of World Cup drought

One journalist was shouting excitedly "This is a sign, this is a sign" seeing it as a bad omen for New Zealand ahead of Thursday's match.

Eventually the driver gave up, and the players got off the bus even though it wasn't fully inside the stadium.

The Peru have been extremely hospitable and welcoming, and there is no obviously hostility or hatred among the locals, despite what is at stake on Thursday.

Things were never going to go smoothly - especially in such a big city - but the coincidences are starting to mount up here.

At the very least today felt like something a little orchestrated, especially in front of dozens of television cameras, to give a certain perception.

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