They didn’t qualify for the World Cup but the All Whites may play in South America in June after all.
New Zealand Football are looking at the possibility of a game in the Americas before the World Cup and have already received an offer for a match on the continent against a South American nation before the tournament kicks off on June 13.
The All Whites could appeal as possible opponents for Chile, given the links between the two nations and the fact Australia are in their World Cup group.
A pre-World Cup friendly appears a great opportunity. The 32 participating nations will arrive in Brazil in late May or early June and many will be open to pre-tournament hit-outs.
A game against top-class opposition would continue the momentum from the recent friendly against Japan, where the young team showed fortitude to come back from an early 4-0 deficit and drew plaudits for their attractive football. It would also be the last chance to get the team together before the next Fifa window in September.
NZF is also weighing up other opportunities for a match in June, with offers from teams in Asia, which would be logistically easier than playing in South America.
As always, the viability of any fixture depends on the financial equation, with a match fee needed to offset the substantial costs involved in assembling the team from around the globe. It is also dependent on the All Whites fielding a strong line-up, as there would be little point in arranging such a game without the involvement of many of the top players.
The match would not be played in an official Fifa window and would be at the end of the European club season. However, the timing could work well – any match would be staged once players are free of club commitments and before they start pre-season work for the next campaign.
Players have been vocal recently in expressing their desire for more games: “It all comes down to how many times we can get together,” said Glen Moss of the team’s future prospects, after the match in Tokyo. “The key is to get games and especially quality games like this against Japan and those youngsters will only get better and better.”
“We need a better standard of matches,” said Tommy Smith after the World Cup play-off against Mexico in Wellington last year. “Maybe try to get internationals penned in a bit earlier so other teams aren’t booked up.”
“We have got the players to make another World Cup,” said Chris James in Wellington. “It is just whether they put in place a programme that allows us to do that, as well as the right coach.”
The players also need to show the desire to make the most of the few occasions available to play as a national team.
The end goal is the 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup, both in Russia, but the platform needs to be laid this season and next.
NZF realise they could have done better in the lead-up to the Mexico play-off and hopefully steps will be taken to improve the planning and logistics of such campaigns.
But NZF face more obstacles than many other national associations, with the large cost of bringing the team together and the relative geographical isolation, and they need commitment from the players.
Meanwhile, NZF hopes to lock in at least two, hopefully three, more fixtures for the All Whites before the end of the year.
There are Fifa windows during September 1-9, October 6-14 and November 10-18 and it is expected the All Whites will play one game on these shores as well as one away fixture during that time.
The opposition is likely to be Asian, though there is a possibility of a rare match against a European team.
Herald on Sunday
