New Zealand Football have confirmed two games for the men’s national team, against Bahrain and Curaçao, this October in Manama, Bahrain.
The All Whites will face Curaçao on Saturday, October 9 (Sunday 10 October NZT) and Bahrain on Tuesday, October 12 (Wednesday 13 October NZT). Both games will be played at 7pm local time (5am in New Zealand).
“I’m delighted we are confirming these games” said Head Coach Danny Hay.
“Following Tokyo 2020 our main priority was to continue to build on the momentum we established with the Olympic side and bring it to the full senior team. We’ve seen the exciting generation of players emerging, we now just need to start playing games on a regular basis to continue that development.
“These games will be a good test. Obviously Kiwi fans will be well aware of Bahrain but Curaçao are a strong side with lots of players playing at a high level in Europe.”
Because of the managed isolation and quarantine requirements upon entry back into New Zealand, Danny Hay anticipates having to pick a predominantly Europe and US-based squad. Hay will also travel with only three other New Zealand-based staff members.
“I’m really confident in the player base we have overseas and it is testament to the talent we are producing that we are in a position to choose a squad with likely no Australia or New Zealand based players,” Hay said.
“As things stand we will be travelling with reduced staff and we will be using the public MIQ system to return to New Zealand. It is a difficult situation but we are all committed to doing whatever is needed to play these games.”
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