Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
New Zealand defender Tyler Bindon never had to go far to find his footballing inspiration.
As a toddler, Bindon was running around at Football Ferns training, where his mother, Jenny, was a goalkeeper and played for New Zealand at the 2007 and 2011 Women’s World Cups.
This week, the pair became the first mother-son duo to play at their respective World Cups, with Jenny in the stands when Tyler came off the bench in New Zealand’s 2-2 draw with Iran in Inglewood, California.
American-born Jenny played 77 games for the Football Ferns between 2004 and 2014, and also featured at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, while Tyler’s father Grant captained the New Zealand volleyball team.
Nottingham Forest centre-back Tyler, 21, played under-19s for the US, then switched to New Zealand at under-23 level before debuting in 2023, while Jenny is now a coach.
“World Cup debut. A special day for many reasons,” Bindon posted on Instagram.
“Proud to represent New Zealand on the biggest stage and incredibly grateful to share the moment with my mum as the first mother-son duo to play at a World Cup.”
“I got to watch Tyler grow up,” Riley wrote on Instagram.
“He would run around during training, he would get the balls for us, he could strike a ball with his laces by the time he was four.
“And now we’re watching him represent New Zealand on the biggest stage in the world.”
There have been plenty of father-son duos to feature on football’s grandest stage.
Norway star Erling Haaland, who scored a brace against Iraq on Tuesday, is the son of Alf-Inge Haaland, who played in the 1994 World Cup.
US player Gio Reyna, who scored against Paraguay, is the son of Claudio Reyna, who attended four World Cups.
