Soccer: All Whites tour hits another snag

Photo / Brett Phibbs

The All Whites' tour plans to Los Angeles and Trinidad and Tobago have been thrown into disarray on the eve of their departure but it might end in a better result for the side as they prepare for next month's World Cup playoff.

The All Whites were due to play two games against club sides as part of a six-team tournament in Los Angeles before playing Trinidad and Tobago in Port-of-Spain but one of the club outfits is experiencing visa issues which is putting the tournament in doubt.

New Zealand Football still have the option of playing Mexican club side Queretaro FC on October 13 (NZT) in Los Angeles but the two sides are now likely to meet at Queretaro's 45,000-seat stadium, which is two hours outside of Mexico City. NZF are also looking into playing a club side in Mexico City three days earlier.

Three games in seven days had been the original plan, when they were due to play Chivas USA and Queretaro in Los Angeles before meeting Trinidad and Tobago on October 16 (NZT).

"It's frustrating these issues are cropping up so close to the games but it's out of our hands,'' NZF high performance manager Fred de Jong said. ``If a team are having visas issues, there's not a lot we can do about that.

"If it pans out how I expect it to pan out, it could be a better option and would be a good buildup for November's World Cup playoff.''

It's looking increasingly likely New Zealand will face world No 21 Mexico next month in a home-and-away playoff for a place at next year's World Cup in Brazil.

The All Whites are likely to attend Mexico's crucial playoff against Panama this week if the revised plan is confirmed today. The team are due to fly out to Los Angeles tomorrow.

Not only will the All Whites see Mexico in action and get to experience the 105,000-seat Aztec Stadium _ one of football's famous cauldrons _ but they will also play at altitude. Queretaro is 300m below Mexico City, which is 2240m above sea level.

The additional travel costs will be picked up by their hosts.

It will end a messy chapter for NZF. They knew as early as July 2011 they would be facing Concacaf opposition for a place at the World Cup and the Fifa windows are known well in advance but they struggled to find games for the August, September and October windows.

It has often proved a fruitless search, with many countries already out of World Cup contention having little appetite to play a game against low-profile opposition like New Zealand and also pick up their costs.

Few are also likely to go out of their way to help the All Whites if it comes at the expense of a fellow Concacaf nation.

"It has been a trying time and created a bit of angst considering how hard it has been to get games,'' de Jong admitted.

"As long as we get one good warmup game before the Trinidad and Tobago match, I will be reasonably happy. The most important thing is time together because the side rarely get to do that.''

A 22-man squad is due to be named today but there will be a number of notable absentees, including Chris Killen, who will miss next month's playoffs with an Achilles injury, Shane Smeltz, Chris Wood and possibly Marco Rojas. Top club sides might also be unwilling to release the likes of Winston Reid and Tommy Smith for the games against club sides.

It's likely to see a recall for Rory Fallon, who famously scored the goal against Bahrain to send the All Whites to the 2010 World Cup.