New Zealand’s Chris Wood received a rather unusual yellow card during his national team’s dominant win over Fiji. The 33-year-old forward, who netted a hat-trick before being substituted, was caught signing autographs for fans instead of returning to the bench—an action that resulted in a booking.Chris Wood was booked for going into the crowd to sign autographs for fans during New Zealand’s 7-0 win over Fiji 😅He’d already scored a hat-trick of headers before being subbed off. pic.twitter.com/AfW5ZFW7x6— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 21, 2025 Despite already being off the field, Wood was penalized for breaching a rule that states players who enter the stands must be cautioned. “I was just trying to do something nice and sign for the fans,” Wood explained after the match. However, the regulations are strict—so much so that a match can even be stopped if a player does not return to the technical area promptly.New Zealand is now just one win away from securing a spot in their third-ever World Cup. They will face New Caledonia in a decisive qualifier on Monday in Auckland. Given that New Caledonia’s squad consists mostly of amateur players, it is unlikely they will pose a serious challenge to the New Zealand.Chris Wood took his scoring boots on international duty 👟The @NFFC striker scored a hat-trick for New Zealand in their World Cup Qualifier. pic.twitter.com/zE4JVcdmQZ— Premier League (@premierleague) March 21, 2025 After the Fiji match, Wood shared his thoughts on the upcoming fixture: “We know how good New Caledonia are, and we’re going to have to be ready for them. We need to focus on doing recovery well now and be ready to go Monday.”##NAJAVA_MECA_8796802##
