Rose Bowl date set for Mexico friendly
All Whites confirm fixtures and venues for rest of the year
The All Whites have confirmed they will take on some formidable opposition at an iconic venue in preparation for the 2026 World Cup. The New Zealand men’s first fixture of the September international window will be against Mexico (Fifa ranking 15) at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California on Sunday, September 8 at 12.30pm NZT.
The fixture aims to continue the team’s strategy of facing top50-ranked sides in preparation for qualifying for the 2026 World Cup starting at the end of the year, with fixtures against Egypt (Fifa ranking 36), as well as one of Croatia (Fifa ranking 10) or Tunisia (41), already scheduled this month in Abu Dhabi.
The All Whites previously faced Mexico at the American venue in 2010 when Mexico won 2-0 in front of a crowd of more than 90,000 fans.
New Zealand head coach Darren Bazeley sees this game as a great opportunity for his side to face a top opponent in a high pressure environment.
“Should we qualify for the Fifa World Cup 2026, we are going to be playing sides that are higher ranked than us and this game, especially taking place in front of a likely huge crowd which will predominately be supporting Mexico, in one of the countries the tournament will be happening in, is a brilliant test for us,” Bazeley said.
“Not many of our squad will have played in an atmosphere like we can expect to see in this game and it will give us a great taste of what the Fifa World Cup 2026 could feel like, which is no better incentive heading into our qualifying games in October and November.
“We will likely have another game still to be announced in this window but we are now in a fortunate position of having the 2024 schedule locked in with the W Cup alongside Egypt, Croatia and Tunisia this month, followed by the OFC Men’s Nations Cup in Vanuatu, Olympics in July, this game in September and Fifa World Cup qualifying in October and November.
“We want to take every step to make sure we are as prepared as possible come qualifying and this match schedule should put us in the best place to perform.”
A second fixture for the September Fifa international window is set to be confirmed.