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AUKLAND, Nov 1 (SW) - New Zealand Soccer
has announced the first of many pieces that will make up the
Confederations Cup jigsaw, with the All Whites confirmed to participate in
matches against Iran home and away early next year.
As winners of their respective Confederation championships, the two will
clash at North Harbour Stadium in late March (tentatively scheduled for
28th) and in Iran in early April. Coach Mick Waitt will name an 18 man
squad for the matches, with European based players available for
selection.
New Zealand Soccer has confirmed their involvement in the matches after
consultation with the relevant Government agencies eased concerns about
travelling to the Middle East in the current political climate, says NZS
CEO Bill MacGowan: "As mentioned when Iran won through in Asia, our first
concern was the safety of players and management in that part of the
world. Our concerns are not with Iran but more with surrounding ‘hot
spots’. We have since been assured there should be no problems and subject
to any dramatic deterioration, we are committed to the matches and have
started discussions with Iran to confirm dates."
The matches will be the last before the All Whites embark on their
Confederations Cup build-up proper in late May. A match against Scotland
is all but confirmed with interest also from Wales, the Republic of
Ireland, Croatia, France, Hungary, Jamaica and Argentina. The match
against a French selection is offered on the basis the teams are drawn in
opposing groups for the Cup proper.
MacGowan says the team is almost certain to be based in England prior to
the tournament: "Mick Waitt, Alex Hayton and I scouted a number of
facilities after the recent matches in Europe and were most impressed with
what we saw. In particular Mottram Hall (Manchester) and The Springs
(Leicester) offered everything we would need."
The All Whites are likely to assemble in England on or around the 23rd May
with the Scotland match scheduled for May 27th. |
