2020 All Whites International Fixtures

ok, i dont know what the hell is going on, but it was trying to post a picture of the england fa confirming the game against the All whites. ffs. anyway, here's the link to the tweet

https://twitter.com/England/status/130377015275287...

Easily the biggest friendly we've secured since Italy in 2009. And if the Belgium game gets confirmed and we get these two games in the space of a month it'll be almost unbelievable.

If Soccerway have dates right is only one day between this scheduled game (13th Nov) and England playing in Belgium (15th Nov). So you would have to expect very much a 2nd string English side. Still nice work NZF.

See it's also to be behind closed doors. Does that mean no cameras? Or just no fans? These games are all about prep for June 2022, but it would be a bit flat, if it wasn't televised.

Nah we're playing England Thursday night - the 12th November. England are playing Belgium away on the 15th and Iceland on the 18th.

All of the international breaks are congested because of Nations League and the compressed season for all but the French leagu due to Covid.

No fans as yet. Should be on TV Friday morning.

Yipe you are right, is Thursday 12th.

Phillip Rollo's story says closed doors though. Hopefully that just means sans a crowd.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/12...

The game against England will take place behind closed doors on Friday November 13 (NZT).

This is exciting!

FYI - MLS regular season is to conclude 8th Nov. The full season schedule has yet to be released, as with Covid restrictions they are not looking too far ahead, but yes regular season is due to conclude 8th Nov. 

Tight fit with game at Wembley 12th Nov, but any Kiwis not involved in MLS playoffs could in theory be available - if they can get a travel exemption not requiring quarantine in the UK. SKC (Reid), Minnesota (M Boxall & Musa) and Portland (Tuiloma) are all currently in playoff spots. Colorado (Wynne) and Chicago (Collier) are currently out of the mix.

USL regular season is due to conclude mid October. So likes of Brotherton, Billingsley & Adams could be considered for AWs in Nov, again I presume only if not required to quarantine in the UK. Latter 2 players are technically signed to MLS clubs, who could call them up at any time due to injuries etc.

But Nov AWs could be a bit more full strength than Oct version.

Hay was saying on the radio that he is unlikely to select players based in the US due to COVID travel restrictions and quarantines etc. means no Reid or Smith at least.

Smith is back in England.

Smith and Pjinaker seems like a decent pairing.

so just Reid unlikely to be picked then?

We all give NZF a lot of grief on this forum, and rightly so. 

But WOW... congrats to them and everyone who worked on putting this together. 

Boxall, Tuiloma, Wynne, Collier, Musa, and Billingsley. 

I would have guessed that only Boxall and tuiloma would have been on the 'starting' list for hay, the other three would be reserves at best, no?

Yep. Though Collier is pretty much the next best we have after Wood, so he'd probably get minutes too.

If you look at who is available in Europe, Billingsley would be very much in the mix at starting RB as well.

It could well be Niko Kirwan. All the other candidates are in Australasia.

I wonder if McCowatt will still be over there

Why wouldn't he be?

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/12...

Of the players who ply their trade outside of Europe, Hay said Sydney FC forward Kosta Barbarouses has put his hand up to travel from Australia, while Phoenix goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic is currently on holiday in Germany and is “very keen” to be involved.

“If we had every player available that’s European-based then we’ve still got some gaps in certain positions, but we have got more players getting over to good European environments which for me is a huge bonus, not just for them but it’s a huge bonus for the All Whites moving forward.”

Without access to players outside of Europe, Hay will feel the pinch most at right-back as recent All Whites Dane Ingham, Louis Fenton, Storm Roux and Tim Payne are all based in either New Zealand or Australia.

Their absence could open the door for a recall for Niko Kirwan. The son of All Blacks legend Sir John Kirwan recently helped Italian club Reggiana gain promotion to Serie B. Kirwan was selected in the All Whites for a friendly against Canada in 2018 but did not feature.

“I’m keeping an open mind about everything,” Hay said. “We’ve got a wider database of players that are playing in Europe and it will just depend on who is available and who is not available.

“We’ve got to see what is occurring in each country, who we can bring in and then obviously try and get that mix right. It’s not just Plan A, B and C, you’re working your way right down the alphabet.”

Could be looking at something like:

Marinovic

Kirwan - Pijnaker - Smith - Cacace

Bell - Thomas

Just - Singh - McCowatt

Wood

With a bench of Woud,  Boxall, Wilkins, Parker-Price, Stamenic, Conroy, Garbett, and Stevens.

Edit - If Kosta got over from Australia he'd probably take Just or McCowatt's starting place in the team above. 

I believe Dominic Wooldridge and Harry Edge still at Torslanda, and Jesse Edge is at Berga.  Who else is in Europe ATM? 

Wilso.

If CB stocks get real low, then old mate Themi or Francis de Vries would have to be considered. Dylan de Jong is in Israel, and made a few match day squads for his club tail end of last season.

Likewise Weemac (supposedly in Scotland) if any injuries left the midfield looking light. Hay did pick him for the November games last year. But really like Themi, his time is over.

Max Mata would probably be picked ahead of Matt Conroy.

.

Why wouldn't Themi be an automatic consideration for the squad given that he is in Europe and is a solid, experienced defender who is still playing regularly?

Plz! Themi is old and slow, he should be nowhere near a All Whites starting 11.

I’d take Themi any day over some of the other names who maybe in contention only due to their being in Europe.  

He’s going to be match fit for one thing, a lot of others, not so much.  Plus he’s very experienced in a squad which is looking like light of defensive experience.

I'm thinking along lines as much as who Hay is likely to pick, as to who he should pick. I like Themi, and in the past he always stuck his hand up for those unattractive OFC qualifiers in the Islands, trekking all the way over from Greece. Some other guys sometimes gave those games a miss. He seemed to really enjoy his unexpected few years of international football.

But Hay I think will have a strong bias towards youth. Before Eastern Suburbs (basically a bunch of kids) he coached at a high school. He also had the NZ U17s. His coaching history is mostly with youngsters. He is already talking about the 2026 WC cycle alot.

Anyway he knows that when Covid is gone he will have plenty of experienced CBs available - like Reid, M Boxall, Smith. Even Tuiloma has been around a while now. If these friendlies are about building towards June 2022, but also with one eye of 2026 WC cycle then really Themi is not required.

Most of the alternatives to Themi for these Euro friendlies, are likely pretty match fit. Smith, N Boxall and Francis de Vries are all into their club seasons. Pijnaker & George Stanger (forgot about him in earlier post) will be very into their pre season stuff, and by October likely playing, even if just club youth football. Stanger doesn't seem to be in the first team picture at Hamilton Acad, so maybe will be loaned out again. The Scottish lower leagues haven't started their seasons yet.

The great unknown is how many A League guys will make themselves available. Hay has already mentioned Kosta, who of course was unavailable for Hay's first 2 matches in charge, Nov last year. Barba will see there is plenty of young talent coming through now (McCowatt, Garbett, Just, Collier, Conroy, Waine etc), and he hasn't played under Hay yet. Missing these games, and seeing some of those youngsters shine, could jeopardise his future selection prospects on the road to Qatar.

Other guys like Payne, TAHW, Dane Ingham, Roux, Callan Elliott etc may also consider putting their hand up. The last 2 are both off contract with their clubs. Elliott (Scottish born) I presume has a EU passport. Niko Kirwan is the only RB prospect at the moment in Europe?? What if he gets injured, or his Serie B club won't release him. It's not as if these A League guys are coming off a 40 game club season and need a big long rest. Who knows who may be watching if they get on the field in Europe. Could make the thought of 2 weeks quarantine, upon return back in NZ all worth it. The next A League season looks months way from starting, after all.

Hay could definitely make use of that long throw. 

Ridenton is another A League guy who may consider making himself available to travel to Europe, esp if his future A League prospects look slim.

Subbed off at HT against Lithuania so Hay may not be a fan, but surely he comes into the picture if Joe Bell is now unavailable. He can kill time between the Oct and Nov windows by looking at trial opportunities in the UK or elsewhere. He managed to get one at Reading so surely a League Two club would have a look at him. Again all depends on his A League prospects I guess, and maybe too early to know for sure.

Only thing is that upon return downunder, he may not be able to enter Aussie, only NZ. This is apparently why Kosta won't be able to go to Europe now. Currently you have to ask the Australian Govt to leave Australia, and if they refuse but you still go, they can deny you re-entry. Something like that.

I hope NZF know of half a dozen "eligible to play for NZ" players! We'd be in for a long night even with a full strength team - with a weakened one, I'll be stoked if we manage to keep the scores down to 0-6

I hope NZF know of half a dozen "eligible to play for NZ" players! We'd be in for a long night even with a full strength team - with a weakened one, I'll be stoked if we manage to keep the scores down to 0-6

I am with you on this one. Some of the names bandied around just happen to be in Europe and are no ways near ready to play at that level imho.

Develop a Covid vaccine before 8th October and I guess it's problem solved. Good challenge for ya.

If the UK plays hard ball around its 2 week isolation principle and NZF are honest, I think this will be a really weak team.  We will either have out of season players from NZ/Australia or mostly weak Euro based players.

Players based in the Americas, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland and France will have to isolate for two weeks; that removes Libby, Thomas, Would, Pijnaker, McGarry, Mata, plus everyone from the MLS from the squad.

Not sure I'm keen to watch England and Belgium with the squad we're likely to have; will be a very painful watch with only Themi, Smith, Wood, Singh and maybe Just and McCowatt playing at a decent level in this squad.

Even saying Themi, Smith, Just and McCowatt are playing at a decent level is generous when we're talking about games against Belgium and England.

If I was a betting person I would bet that these matches won’t happen. Disappointing, for sure but I just don’t see how in the present health climate they will happen. Covid is going gangbusters in Europe at the moment. We are well into the second wave and in many countries it is now worse than the first wave. Infection rates are going up by 300%+ in a week in many countries. France recorded 10,000 positive cases in a day last Friday. Country after country are bringing in travel restrictions. I would expect that large parts of Europe will be in lockdown soon. We don’t get to see the AWs play that often and to miss such high profile games against England and Belgium would be a tragedy.....F**k you Covid

Wow I thought France was 7k (which again is bad enough).  

I do though wonder had testing been around in March/April/May whether numbers would have been far worse then.  It's thought that nearly everyone in my company (a rather large airline) had it very early on and like a couple of other large European airlines, help spread it through the continent and on to the Americas and Africa, dooming us kiwis from going home and watching the AWs and ABs play this year.

McGarry left Netherlands about 6 months ago. Presume he is still in NZ. 

Game against the Belgians is scheduled to be in Belgium, so really UK quarantine policy with that fixture, should only be a problem for 2-4 players (Wood, Smith and maybe Tzanev & Weemac)?? Also read somewhere else that Kevin De Bruyne, had offered to give Wood a charter/private jet ride over to Brussels for the game. Or was that a joke!

But really who knows. Expect we won't know for sure, until Danny Hay is actually flying out or not in late September. Imagine quarantine/border rules amongst all the various EU countries are changing daily. Someone at NZF will need a nice Excel spreadsheet to keep up. Only definitive outs at the moment seem Bell (Norway Govt say he would need to quarantine for 2 weeks upon return to Norge), plus MLS contingent. Don't forget it's likely to be a 2nd string Belgian outfit that runs out, same with Three Lions.

One hope is that UEFA are pretty powerful. They will be doing everything in their power to make sure the scheduled Nations League internationals in Oct & Nov windows happen. Otherwise they will face scheduling problems into 2021, including the Euros which they will be desperate to see happen - and which I think will, even if sans fans. It may mean that all the Euro national teams travel by private jet or something over those Oct-Nov windows. Pretty sure some golfers have been travelling between USA and EU by private chartered jets to get around quarantine/border restrictions. So AWs maybe able to ride on the coat tails on any setup like that, re team getting together. That's as long as FIFA don't cancel friendlies.

Be interesting to also know if USA and Mexico v AWs friendlies in Europe are any closer to being a thing, and where they could be played if not in UK. Both of those countries with no other scheduled games before CONCACAF Nations League finals next March, will be very keen for a friendly or two to happen.

It maybe that 2 games can be managed in October window, but by November Covid restrictions have tightened even further and England game and any other is canned.

But really expect whole thing to remain uncertain until Hay hops on that plane or not.

Most countries in Europe are NOT currently doing worse than the first wave. Number of cases is not an indicator of how a place is faring with Covid. It is very dependant on testing rates, which were very low through the first wave due to lack of test kits, slow testing process and everyone being locked up so not being tested. And those that were were the ones showing symptoms. Now lots are being tested, even when having no symptoms. To take your case of France, they tested on average less than 2000 people per day in the first week of March. That's why they didn't find 10k infected people each day.

Deaths are the only real measure - subject to correct reporting, which is questionable in some cases.

In fact, every European country other than Balkan States, Greece, Russia and Ukraine are doing much better than before.

These countries did not have a first wave 'peak' like Western Europe, but have generally had a later starting, flatter but longer sustained curve.

Oh, and Belarus, which for some bizarre reason has consistently recorded 4-6 deaths every day since April, with the occasional 3 or 7.

If everyone stopped disseminating inaccurate or misleading information, maybe football would still go ahead some places.

Big news for @NZ_Football fans. It's looking like the match against @BelRedDevils is set to be axed. https://t.co/RLd1xboeIT

— Michael O'Keeffe (@mpokeeffe1) September 17, 2020

I can see the England game having the issues. Players from all over Europe needed and that would be a 2nd team at best.