With their World Cup dream just one win away, New Zealand Football want to arrange two quality matches for the All Whites – including one against a familiar foe - before their playoff against Costa Rica. Michael Burgess reports.
The All Whites could be set for a rematch with Peru,as they seek out high-quality preparation matches ahead of the Fifa World Cup Intercontinental playoff in June.
New Zealand will face Costa Rica in the one-off encounter in Doha, after the Central American side beat the United States 2-0 on Thursday to confirm their fourth placing in the Concacaf confederation.
Costa Rica, ranked 31 on Fifa's rankings, will be formidable opposition, especially after their recent seven-game unbeaten run, including wins over Canada and the United States, and a draw in Mexico.
It's a daunting prospect for the All Whites, but means the best possible warm-up matches are imperative.
The Herald understands that a game with Peru is on the table.
There is a relationship between the federations after the memorable 2017 series, while Los Incas are also preparing for a shootout in Qatar, after finishing fifth in the South American confederation.
That match is likely to be against Australia and they are targeting opposition of a similar style.
New Zealand Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell said that the Andean team, ranked no 21 by Fifa, would be a "logical choice".
"Definitely - in terms of what we are looking for," Pragnell told the Herald. "We need to weigh up their availability and the location but they are definitely an option."
The All Whites failed to qualify for the last World Cup after losing to Peru in the intercontinental playoff in 2017. Photo / Photosport
NZF want to arrange two matches for the All Whites before the Costa Rica fixture, with quality of opposition and playing style the most important factors.
Ideally, they would like to face another Concacaf team – similar to Costa Rica – and Panama (world No 61), Jamaica (64) or El Salvador (74) could be options. A high-ranked team from North Africa is also a possibility.
Negotiations will progress over the next few days – with all member associations in Qatar for the Fifa congress and World Cup draw.
The matches will either be played in Europe, with the All Whites staging a camp there before the playoff, or in Qatar. That decision will depend on where potential opposition are based, as well as the facilities available in Doha during the oppressive summer heat.
"You can't be playing or training outdoors at that time of year so what is available to us in terms of air conditioned stadiums becomes significant," said Pragnell. "The games and training would have to have air con facilities. If they don't it becomes incredibly challenging."
That may mean build-up matches are more viable in Europe, especially in terms of logistics and to avoid having the team essentially confined to an air conditioned bubble for more than two weeks.
"It might be a more rational step," said Pragnell.
NZF are also seeking clarification on the arrangements for the Costa Rica match.
"We need to know a bit more about the training facilities here," said Pragnell. "We assume it will be in an air conditioned stadium but critical to that is air conditioned training facilities as well. The heat can be over 40, so it is almost impossible otherwise, shy of training at 1am. It is something we need to find out pretty urgently from Fifa."
Peak daytime temperatures in Doha in June usually range between 37 and 44 degrees, dropping to between 27 to 30 overnight, allied with high humidity.
The 2022 Fifa World Cup was moved from June to November/December because of concerns over the climate, particularly for players but also for fans and operational staff.
In response to questions from the Herald, Fifa said that all the relevant stadiums in Doha have cooling technologies to combat the heat and that international matches have been played in Qatar in June and no issues were reported by any of the teams.
Qatar played South Korea in June 2017, with the match kicking off at 10pm.
There were no June internationals in Doha in 2018, 2019 or 2020, before Qatar faced India and Oman in 2021.
