NZ eyes June for cup home games
The All Whites could play at home for the first time in almost four years in June, if Oceania qualifying for the 2022 Fifa World Cup is able to get underway, and New Zealand Football is successful with its bid to host the initial matches.
Qualifying was originally scheduled to start in September 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on international travel and borders made that impossible, and the latest word from the Oceania Football Confederation was that it would not start before June 2021.
In a statement in November, OFC said it would ‘‘work with Fifa to agree upon the World Cup qualifying process and will continue to collaborate with its Member Associations to determine the best steps forward’’.
NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell said the organisation was eager to host matches in June – after acknowledging there wasn’t likely to be anything for the All Whites before then – and hoped qualifying would be able to begin sooner, rather than later.
‘‘We’re strong advocates that the men’s qualification pathway has to get away as soon as possible, within all the [Covid-19] health and safety requirements that we have to manage,’’ he said.
‘‘OFC are obviously interested in that as well.
‘‘We think New Zealand would be a great place to host a tournament to get that pathway underway in 2021.
‘‘If we leave that to 2022, it puts enormous challenges on whoever the OFC qualifier is for the intercontinental playoff, so that’s a really big focus for us, working with the OFC and our Government to see if we can make that happen.’’
The All Whites last played at home in November 2017, when they hosted Peru in the first leg of the intercontinental playoff for the 2018World Cup in Russia, and are seeking to qualify for the World Cup for the third time (1982, 2010) under coach Danny Hay.
While the format of Oceania qualifying is yet to be finalised, the best team from the region will have to win an intercontinental playoff in March 2022 to secure their place in the 32-team event, in Qatar in November and
December that year.
The start of qualification for the 2022 World Cup is one of two major international men’s football events on the horizon in 2021, Covid-19 permitting.
The other is the Tokyo Olympics, still scheduled to start in July, where the Hay-coached OlyWhites are scheduled to take part in the men’s football tournament, which is for teams made up predominantly of under24 players (those born since January 1, 1997).
2021 will be a quieter year than usual, however, after Fifa announced on Christmas Day [NZ time] that the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups scheduled to take place in 2021 would be cancelled due to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Participation in those tournaments has often helped young Kiwi footballers secure moves overseas – All Whites midfielder Joe Bell signing for Viking in Norway is one recent example – and their cancellation in 2021 could hurt some players’ professional prospects.
All Whites and Wellington Phoenix midfielder Clayton Lewis played at the 2013 Under-17 World Cup and the 2015 and 2017 Under20 World Cups, and said this week it would ‘‘be tough for those lads who were wanting to go to those tournaments’’.
‘‘It was a big opportunity for me to be on the world stage and to showcase what I’m about.
‘‘I was lucky enough to play in two under-20 World Cups and that helped with my move to England [when he signed with Scunthorpe United in 2017].
‘‘It will be tough for those boys.
‘‘But they’ve got to look at the bright side and know that there will be opportunities elsewhere, whether it be with the under-23s or just with their clubs.
‘‘Everyone’s looking at New Zealanders nowadays, so they’re going to get opportunities regardless.’’
We’re strong advocates that the [Oceania] men’s qualification pathway has to get away as soon as possible, within all the [Covid-19] health and safety requirements that we have to manage.’ ANDREW PRAGNELL, NZ FOOTBALL CHIEF EXECUTIVE, RIGHT