Asia would be best for All Whites

TONY SMITH OPINION: Forget the future carrot of direct World Cup entry the All Whites need to move to Asia to get better international competition.

They need to be playing more teams of Peru’s calibre if they hope to improve.

Conservative football followers will say: ‘‘Why not wait till the World Cup’s expanded to 48 teams in 2026 and Oceania will get direct entry?’’

But the All Whites won’t get better on that basis. As it stands now, New Zealand’s football team plays five meaningful matches every four years - three games at the Confederations Cup finals and the two-legged World Cup intercontinental playoff series.

Contrast the All Whites’ lead-in this year to Peru’s.

The Peruvians - who are going to their first World Cup finals since 1982 - came into the playoff series with 18 matches behind them in the South American qualifying group. Their opponents included Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Chile - world-class teams in anyone’s book. All 18 games had something riding on them.

The All Whites, by contrast, breezed through the Oceania qualifying group without really being tested. Sure, they have played the United States, Mexico, Japan and Northern Ireland outside the Confederations Cup and World Cup windows. But those were one-off friendlies with nothing but pride at stake.

It would be easy for New Zealand Football to sit back and wait for Fifa’s bloated World Cup format to be introduced in 2026 and then watch the All Whites qualify, virtually by default, every time?

Yes, that would mean a sizeable chunk of cash coming their way every four years, but would it do much for the All Whites’ playing standards? Don’t forget, too, that the All Whites beat Asia’s fifth placed team, Bahrain, in 2009 to gain a place in the 2010 World Cup finals.

The current All Whites would also be very competitive against Australia, but haven’t met the Socceroos since a 3-0 loss in 2011.

Imagine that - a six-year gap between games against your nearest and deadliest rival? Would that happen in any other sport?

It’s not only about the All Whites. The Pacific Island nations would also benefit from better competition - rather than a game or two against New Zealand every few years.

When Fifa announced its World Cup expansion plans last January, respected Australian football commentator Michael Cockerill called for a redrawing of boundaries in Asia and Oceania.

Sadly, Cockerill (who went to school in New Zealand and always had a soft spot for the All Whites) died in August, but his concept should live on.

He foresaw the Oceania nations and Australia joining the existing East Asia and ASEAN federation teams in a new confederation, leaving the West Asia and Central Asia federation nations on their own.

There would also be scope within that structure to retain a four-yearly Asian Championships tournament contested by teams from both confederations.

The All Whites would be in East Asia with Australia, Japan and South Korea (traditionally three of the top teams in Asia) China and Thailand - all countries with significant expatriate populations in New Zealand.

We all saw the atmosphere a small clutch of Peruvians generated in Wellington last weekend.

Imagine a packed Eden Park for an All Whites game against China or South Korea with half the New Zealand-domiciled crowd cheering for the visitors?

The same structure would apply for the Football Ferns and all age-group sides.

It might mean an end to New Zealand teams going to youth World Cups, automatically as of right, but it would give them much better competition - and that’s what the game’s all about.