Football: All Whites book final fixture ahead of World Cup qualification playoff

The All Whites will meet Oman in early June, ahead of their World Cup qualification playoff later in the month. Photo / Photosport

New Zealand Football have confirmed the final piece of the All Whites' programme over the next month, ahead of the blockbuster Fifa World Cup Intercontinental playoff on June 15.

The All Whites will face Oman in their second preparation match on June 10 (NZ time) in Doha, four days after the first warm up match against Peru in Barcelona (June 6).

For a long time it looked like Iran would be the opponents, but the respective federations couldn't find common ground over a date for the game.

Oman (ranked world No 75 by Fifa) aren't in the same league as Iran (No 21) but will still present a significant challenge.

They finished only one point behind Australia in the final stage of World Cup qualifying in the Asian confederation – holding the Socceroos to a 2-2 draw in Muscat - and have claimed wins over Japan and China in the past year.

"We are really pleased to lock in this match against another high-quality opposition" said All Whites coach Danny Hay.

"It is vital that we challenge ourselves ahead of the Intercontinental playoff but also have the opportunity to try things out. These two games should allow us to do both."

"Having the opportunity to give minutes to members of the wider squad is really important as you never know what can happen during a game. We need the entire squad match fit, battle hardened and pushing to make the starting XI against Costa Rica."

The Oman game will be played behind closed doors and will not be broadcast live.

That will be in stark contrast to the Peru encounter at the RCDE stadium (the home of La Liga side Espanyol) with 25,000 tickets already sold.

New Zealand has faced Oman six times at senior level since 1996, with four wins and one draw. The most recent encounter was in 2015, with a Chris Wood goal securing a 1-0 win for Anthony Hudson's team.

In other football news, the Wellington Phoenix have re-signed Gemma Lewis as coach of their A-League women's team.

The Phoenix finished last in their inaugural season, with seven points from 14 matches, but the club was impressed with Lewis' work in trying circumstances, with a minimal pre-season, a green squad and the team stuck across the Tasman for the entire campaign

They were also encouraged by the positive signs towards the end of the season, with two wins from the last four games.

"Gemma is the ideal coach to build on the inaugural season and build towards the 2023 FIFA World Cup and beyond," said Phoenix general manager David Dome.

"The club is looking at how we can invest further in the women's team to ensure they're better prepared for year two."

Lewis is confident about the next chapter.

"We feel like we just got started last season," she said. "We started implementing what sort of team we want to be known as and how we want to play and now we've got a chance to build on that. I wasn't willing to walk away as it didn't feel like we were finished."

The 2022/23 Liberty A-League season starts in November.

Confirmed All Whites' fixtures (NZ time)

New Zealand v Peru
Monday 6 June. Barcelona, Spain

New Zealand v Oman (behind closed doors)
Friday 10 June. Doha, Qatar

New Zealand v Costa Rica – 2022 FIFA World Cup Intercontinental playoff
Wednesday 15 June, 6am. Doha, Qatar