New Zealand scrap England football friendly over virus ‘complications’

NEW ealand pulled out of next month’s football friendly against England on Wednesday, saying “complications” caused by Covid-19 had made it too difficult to field a team at Wembley on November 12.

The withdrawal follows a number of coronavirus cases during the current round of international fixtures, including a positive test by Portugal and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

“The shifting nature of travel restrictions and commercial flight availability under Covid means that we do not have certainty we could assemble a squad at Wembley,” New ealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell said in a statement.

He said a “significant number” of players would face quarantine or other restrictions when they returned home, adding that could “potentially jeopardise their professional careers”.

All Whites coach Danny Hay said he was “gutted” to have to withdraw from such a high-profile fixture.

“Looking at the restrictions currently in place, as well as the rising number of Covid-19 cases across Europe, it just isn’t possible to put a competitive squad together,” he said.

Coronavirus problems have weighed heavily on the ongoing round of international games, with several teams facing difficulties and disruption.

England manager Gareth Southgate, whose team play Denmark on Wednesday and are also due to face Belgium and Iceland next month, earlier defended the decision to play the games during the pandemic.