Wembley, here we come
All Whites coach Danny Hay is preparing to spend eight weeks away from New Zealand in order to oversee friendlies against two of the top-five ranked nations in world football.
But it is looking increasingly likely that he will have to select a squad of predominantly European-based players due to the strict border restrictions in place to combat Covid-19, robbing Hay of his first-choice centreback pairing; Winston Reid and Michael Boxall, as well as a host of other key personnel.
‘‘For me and probably one other staff member from New Zealand, it’s going to be a long haul over there. We’ll have to leave at the back end of September to give ourselves enough time because as we know border [restrictions] seem to change at the drop of a hat,’’ he said.
‘‘The likelihood is I’ll be over there for the best part of eight weeks so it’s going to be a long time away from the family.’’
New Zealand Football confirmed yesterday that it has locked in a blockbuster clash with world No 4 England at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium on November 13 (NZT).
The match will be held behind closed doors five weeks after the All Whites play world No 1 Belgium in Brussels on October 9, setting up a bumper finish to 2020.
Hay said it was a huge coup to lock in another fixture against world-class opposition.
The All Whites last played England at Wellington’s Athletic Park in 1991 but the two teams have never met outside New Zealand.
NZ Football is also close to finalising an additional fixture for each of the October and November international windows, with Mexico and the United States looming as possible options.
‘‘Obviously we’ve got a few shifting parts in terms of Covid in October and November, but it’s incredible that the organisation has shown a real appetite to get games of this nature locked in,’’ Hay said.
‘‘We want to find out where our strengths and weaknesses lie, and we want to test ourselves against the best.’’
But if the challenge was not already big enough, Hay will have to rely on a squad consisting of predominantly Europeanbased players because those in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and the United States would have to enter managed isolation when they returned home.
A host of New Zealand defenders play in Major League Soccer, including Reid, Boxall, Bill Tuiloma, Deklan Wynne, James Musa, Noah Billingsley and Kyle Adams, and they will still be in season in October and November.
‘‘I don’t think people really appreciate just what a challenge it is and what a logistical nightmare it is proving to be at the moment,’’ Hay said.
Although very few A-League players will come into consideration given the isolation requirements and they will be a month into their off-season, Hay can call upon the services of young stars Liberato Cacace and Callum McCowatt following their recent moves to Sint-Truiden in Belgium and Helsingør in Denmark from Wellington Phoenix.
Both players started against the Republic of Ireland last November, with McCowatt scoring New Zealand’s lone goal.
Mike McGarry – one of the most gifted players in All Whites history – is delighted Danny Hay’s team will get back to play at Wembley and still looks back at his ‘‘almost-goal’’ against England.
McGarry was the star of the All Whites team that took on England in Auckland and Wellington in a two-game series in 1991 to mark New Zealand Football’s centenary.
Now head of physical education at Otago Boy’s High School, McGarry was pleased to hear the current All Whites team will get a crack at England at Wembley on November 13.
The 1991 All Whites lost 1-0 in Auckland and 2-0 on a wet, windy day in Wellington, where McGarry came close to ‘‘what I call my almost-goal’’.
McGarry’s moment in the spotlight came after he saw a back pass coming from a defender and latched on to defender Gary Charles’ under-hit ball. ‘‘I went around [goalkeeper] Chris Wood, who pushed me a little bit wide.’’
McGarry still slotted a shot goalward with his left foot.
‘‘I thought it was in, but this flash [England centreback Des Walker] just came in and cleared it off the line.A half a second later, and it would have been in. It would have been the highlight of my career, for sure.’
McGarry – who scored 12 goals in 54 full internationals – is one of three players in the All Whites’ 1991 team whose sons have since played for New Zealand. Former Wellington Phoenix fullback James McGarry, Michael Ridenton’s son Matthew and Fred de Jong’s son Andre have all worn the All Whites strip.
McGarry believes Hay’s group will regard playing England at Wembley as an honour, just as the 1991 team relished the chance to play an English side led by legendary striker Gary Lineker, now a BBC football show host.
‘‘We were part-time players and they were full-time professionals, but we gave them a bit of a fright, especially in the first game in Auckland,’’ McGarry recalled.
‘‘We thought we’d got a draw, but Gary Lineker popped up and scored the winner in injury time [at the end of the second half]. That was a bit gut-wrenching.’’
McGarry said it was ‘‘incredible’’ to be on the same pitch as England with players like Lineker, and whose team included World Cup stars David
Platt, Des Walker and Stuart Pearce, in a side coached by Graham Taylor. While he is too modest to admit it himself, McGarry gave diehard All Whites fans some memorable moments, using his skills to go past players like Pearce on slaloming runs.
Unlike the 2020 squad, the 1991 All Whites were basically parttimers, although striker Fred de Jong, who had a couple of great chances in Wellington, was with Dutch premier league club Fortuna Sittard and centreback Ceri Evans was in English secondtier club Oxford United.
The All Whites’ ace striker, Oceania player of the century Wynton Rufer, missed the series due to German Cup commitments with Werder Bremen.
McGarry said he and his team-mates ‘‘worked at our day jobs the week before [playing England] and went back to work the week after’’, but he felt they were ‘‘pretty well prepared by our coach, Ian Marshall, who was a very good man manager’’, and who was assisted by 1982 All Whites captain Steve Sumner, and former Watford professional Keith Pritchett.
‘‘We spent a lot of time on defence, as New Zealand teams did in those days, but we always looked to attack and play some decent football.’’
While England had some good players – with Crystal Palace wing John Salako a particular standout – McGarry said the All Whites were ‘‘still disappointed not to get a result – I liked winning games’’.
McGarry said the All Whites ‘‘got to meet some of the England boys and have a few beers with them and some good chats after the game in Auckland’’.
Lineker left New Zealand after the Auckland game to join his Tottenham Hotspur club on a pre-season tour to Japan.
Pearce, the take-no-prisoners left-back from Nottingham Forest, captained England at Wellington, and scored the first goal in a 2-0 win. Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst, who partnered future Arsenal star Ian Wright up front, netted the second goal.
McGarry is pleased the current All Whites – ranked 122nd in the world – will get to play sides of the calibre of England (ranked fourth) and Belgium (first), and he believes they will not be over-awed.
‘‘They all play professionally now and Danny Hay will have the team well-prepared. They’ll give a good account of themselves.’’
‘‘A half a second later, and it would have been in. It would have been the highlight of my career, for sure.’’ Michael McGarry on the goal that wasn’t