2019 International Friendlies

It really is a case of herding cats for Fritz, not helped by -

MLS/USL not breaking for the FIFA windows, and having such a big Kiwi contingent stateside.

Being near end of the Euro season, any player at a club chasing promotion (N Boxall), or battling relegation (Wood, Themi), highly unlikely to be available.

Simple tyranny of distance, making it always challenging to assemble a squad, from all over the world. The Socceroos however for example, can pretty much get a strong squad together solely from the various Euro leagues together, making even games in the Middle East only a 5-7 hour flight away.

NZF being light on funds, some major international expenses coming up with Football Ferns (WC this year & Olympics next year), and Mens U23s (Olympics next year). Juggling priorities. I note the FFs have secured 7 quality friendlies pre their WC. AWs would kill for that many games, going into say a Confeds Cup campaign. Out of curiousity how much do FIFA pay the NZF for qualifying the FFs for the Women's World Cup? ie what money do NZF use for a pre tourney FFs campaign that incl 7 warm up games? Do they have to utilise funds from International Teams Fund? - which I thought was made up of funds mostly generated by the AWs (FIFA money 2010 & Mexico TV money 2013).

looks like Solomon islands heading to malyasia instead... 

What a fudgeing joke. Was planning to attend the games as well. What the fudge is wrong with NZ Football?

What a shambles

Is confirmed as SI, on Malaysian FA Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/FAMalaysiaOfficial/

Press Release: Inaugural AIRMARINE Cup Can Boost National Team’s Ranking

AIRMARINE (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD – a leading logistics company – has stepped in to develop and present the AIRMARINE Cup 2019 between March 20 and 23 at the National Bukit Jalil Stadium.

The tournament’s first edition will feature the national teams of hosts Malaysia, Singapore, Oman and Solomon Islands which will correspond with the official FIFA International match calendar.

Read the full article at http://bit.ly/2GZcOnr

I find this the most depressing NZ football news of recent times (and there has been a bit of competition). Sure I know it’s not a high quality international tourney, but I just want to see the AWs play a game! This year the AWs have one game scheduled and I think the FFs have a min 10 games already. Of course both  senior national teams should be playing regularly, but imagine the outcry if the roles were reversed. Maybe the Ferns players are just more committed to choosing country over club? 

I presume since NZF have pulled out, and been replaced by a ‘poor’ Pacific nation it’s not because the tourney is expensive. Christ is embarrassing when likes of SI, Fiji play more regularly than us. So must be because NZF can’t get the Handy Prem clubs to agree on rescheduling of the semi finals. Who’s running this NZF competition?

Every regular season Handy Prem game remaining that doesn’t include ES, TW or CU - is essentially now of zero importance. Only games involving these 3 sides, have any relevance for sorting out the Semi Finals - spots 2 to 4. Just reschedule the important games (those involving TW, ES or CU) midweek or whatever over the next few weeks, so can bring dates of the Handy semis forward and avoid a clash with this Malaysian tourney. Handy Prem is already split rounds over next few weeks, so really only TW (OFC involvement) of the 3 relevant sides would have some potential tight 3 games a week scenarios. Too bad, suck it up.

Scheduling cluster fudge.

Surely a national team that barely plays, and giving some young upcoming players a taste of international football takes priority. A grand missed opportunity.

Please explain NZF.

By way of some comparison USA men’s team plays games in the FIFA windows, friendly or competitive, even though the MLS doesn’t break. MLS clubs just suck it up, having to release players.

The A League finally recognises FIFA windows and AWs have only 2 games in those windows over 2 years (Canada and Ireland)!! The Nix NZ players will end up now playing only 2 games in virtually the next 5 weeks! Can't tell me that playing say 1 AWs game in March window would have been too harmful.

Honestly gobsmacked.

It's not as straight forward as just reorganising the last few rounds, due to the Oceania Champions League

but you do need to question how NZF are able to reorganise the fixtures to accommodate Auckland City's Lunar New Year Cup trip but not the national team playing - or why they even scheduled the semi finals in FIFA international window in the first place

With hindsight that was plain dumb. Really dumb. NZF knew the FIFA window dates well in advance. Was always a high chance Fritz would call on some Handy Prem players, if the AWs secured game(s) in March. 

American based players always going to be unavailable, plus most of the European pros. 

From memory last March, ES released the likes of de Jong (debut AWs call up), Payne (recall from international wilderness) for the Canada game. This year they must have said no. 

What a fudge up.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/110771103/all-whites-opt-against-malaysia-tournament-in-march-citing-player-welfare-concerns

Note first round of games with Malaysian tourney is scheduled for 20th March.

Preceding A League round finishes 17th March, Nix verus WSW in Wellington. So yes unlikely the 5 or so Kiwi Nix players would have been available to start for game 1.

Still a NZF fudge up, re scheduling Handy Prem semis.

When is the last time the national side has played only 1 match in a year, as now seems likely? aka Ireland in November

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/11...

How much does this head coach cost nz football a year in a salary?

Surely this job must be the best paid football gig in the world on an hourly basis?

Well looks like we're going without an International match for 1 1/2 years. Very disappointing. 

To put it in context, I had a look around the other 'top' OFC countries to see how active they've been since November 2017 after we'd played our WCQ's against Peru. I've included the fixtures from the South Pacific Mini Games as it looks like they've counted towards rankings on eloratings. I'll list the notable fixtures next to them from outside the OFC confederation too, just to show what the island nations are managing to arrange while we fuddle around doing piss all...

New Zealand - 4 games (2 wins, 2 losses) Canada, Kenya, Taiwan, India

Tahiti - 2 games (1 win, 1 draw)

New Caledonia - 10 games (2 wins, 3 draws, 5 losses) Estonia

Fiji - 10 games (3 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses) Estonia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore

Vanuatu - 8 games (4 wins, 2 draws, 2 losses) Estonia

Solomon Islands - 7 games (4 wins, 2 draws, 1 loss) Macau

We're almost as bad as Papua New Guinea, who haven't played since mid 2017.

I know it would be considered an anomaly, but I even looked at Tuvalu (since they played the South Pacific Mini Games at the back end of 2017) they've played 6 times for a respectable 3 wins, even knocking over a youthful New Caledonia at the games too...

Surely we have to be upping our game? If it's a constraint for NZF to play international matches, it has to be even more of a constraint for these island teams, yet they're managing more regular game time than we are, and to me, it just doesn't make sense. Fair play to these island teams who are doing their best to get more meaningful matches, I just wish NZF was doing their part to give our National side a run out more often...

If we couldn't compete there because of scheduling issues why not bring a team down here, especially if money wasn't the single defining reason why we didn't in this window. PNG would have given us a run for our money, or even Fiji..

Or think outside the box and play the game on European soil, during the sanctioned Fifa window. Plenty of teams here or nearby who could afford a 3 hour plane ride to get a game!

Europe wouldn't really work in the March window, as nearly all the side would be coming from the Sth Hemisphere ie A League/Handy Prem. MLS/USL payers unavailable, and same likes Reid, Thomas & N Boxall. Wood, Rojas maybe also reluctant to play given their club situations.

But yeah a training camp plus game in Auckland very Fiji, is not a bad idea. They may even try something like that the in June window as a cheap option.

Basically they had been eyeing this Malaysian tourney up since pre Christmas, but it all sort of unravelled at the last minute. Fudgeed up when they couldn't get Handy Prem semis rescheduled, nor Malaysian FA to push the first tourney game (scheduled too close to preceding A League and other club games) back by a few days. NZF incompetence really, highlighted by Solomon Islands getting called up as AWs replacements.

how can it unravel at the last minute if they'd been looking at it since November? They new when the IPS Handa finals were going to be played, they knew that the players in  Europe were not going to be available. Just typical NZF - utter shambles,

Maybe they gambled on the affected Handy Prem clubs agreeing to release their players, like they did for the March window game verus Canada last year. Was the same date clash from memory.

This year the clubs obviously said no, which is understandable I guess esp for ES, who probably stood to be the most affected with call ups (Payne, De Jong, possibly also McCowatt, Just) - and they must be a real chance this year of hosting a semi, winning & clinching a OFC Champions League spot for the first time. Then of course a first CWC appearance becomes a chance, I bet Declan/Hay would love a shot at that.

Still a NZF fudge up, not being able to schedule it so the FIFA March window is free of Handy Prem games. Especially given there is so many pointless Handy games (semifinalists already locked in, but the league continues on) & OFC games (like yesterday's 13-0 rout for TW) over next few weeks.

the key word there in bold.......why gamble? they managed to get the players for a closed door knock about, but couldn't get anything sorted for a proper tourney.

Yeah NZF fudgeed up. 

But lets not forget last year was a return from the international wilderness for Payne. He probably made sure ES released him. Also De Jong had gone to the NSW NPL by then, and ES would have always been considered a long shot to make the Handy Prem final, finishing regular season a bit back in 4th. 

Then Dyer got red carded in the last regular season game, so missed the semi as well, as ACFC pumped them 4-0.

This season ES have been more impressive, have a better team with all the Western Suburbs kids, and have retained De Jong until the end of their campaign. They are a real chance of winning their semi no matter who they play, so far less likely to release players for the AWs, with a dates clash. This season you feel is their big chance to grab an OFC Champions League spot, esp if the likes of Just, McCowatt, De Jong move on to Europe at season end. They may have a weaker side in Handy Prem 2019/20.

Lastly you also have Declan involved with ES this season. As shown with Western Suburbs stance when U17s(?) tourney clashed with the Chatham Cup, he will choose club/player development, over country.

But again NZF had plenty of time to know this, and sort out alternative dates etc.

Would love to see you lay out some 'alternative dates'. As much as the OFC Champions League group stages and the last few rounds of the national league are bit of a nothing-burger, you can't just skip them or move games featuring players who have day jobs to midweek.

You also seem to have missed that, per the NZF CEO and All Whites coach, the timing of the fixtures was the issue more so than missing any national league players - I'd wager a few would have gone and skipped the semis anyway, tbh, and they'd have still been able to get a squad, even with MLS starting, from what I've been told. It's fair to say some of the national league players were key men last year so their absence would dampen the coach's enthusiasm.

The invitation from Malaysia supposedly came in mid-January, by the way. That does make me wonder why NZ Football were talking up a game in December - but in December Malaysia was talking up a tournament with four teams and the All Whites were nowhere to be seen in local reports.

NZ Football would have been wise to just say 'nothing in March' from way out, but then they'd still be getting stick in some quarters.

That said, this does appear to be a bit of a to-ing and fro-ing shambles up at HQ, so we'll see what comes next.

SU vs ACFC catchup game recently was midweek.

TW & ACFC are currently playing midweek, in completely pointless OFC games featuring 13-0 & 15-0 scorelines.

These nothing games, in their own way have contributed to the AWs missing Malaysia, as yes obviously hard to reschedule Handy Prem games to midweek, and bringing semis forward with TW & ACFC in the Islands.

What point do games with such blowouts serve? Nothing. NZF needs to take a hard stance with OFC in need, to get rid of such matches, if it frees up more dates, to reschedule Handy Prem games.

Read some of my earlier posts AV. I mentioned the problem of FAM's dictate that the first games had to be on a Wednesday, and the problem that would be for Nix players esp who play the preceding Sundee. So for that first match you would have mostly been reliant on other A league players, plus Handy Prem guys & Unattached FC.

I also went as far as to pick a tourney squad (minus MLS/USL & most Euro pros) that was all current AW players from memory, ie similar to Canada & India, and that you would think would have done alright in this tourney. Had 5 Handy Prem guys. 

You must be as frustrated as the next AWs fan. 500 odd days between games, as you mention in your articles. 

Will probably end up being two years (Eire in Nov) between AWs games for the majority of the first strength side who played Peru, yes admittedly Wood and others wouldn't have been in Malaysia. What other nation goes 2 years between having their top side together!

Hopefully they can get the gang together in June - but will still be sans the MLS contingent you would think.

Maybe Schmid's ex Malaysian employers, told him they were planning a tourney back in December, and in his over excitement about the possibility of at last having a team to coach, he let slip that NZF were looking at games in March. A hard lesson for Fritz. Approach every window expecting nothing, then you won't be disappointed.

To bring Handy Prem season forward by one week, and still give semifinalists a week's rest between last regular season game (weekend 9th-10th) & semis (weekend 16th-17th), you would need the 4 semifinalists to all play midweek between 3rd-9th March. From this weekend, all the 4 sides have 2 regular season games to go. Below is a useless exercise, but I'll do it anyway.

TW travel to HB & host ACFC. Either game you think is maybe possible midweek as neither TW or ACFC have many players balancing jobs, and Napier is the shortest trip TW almost have. What do ACFC care if they send a weaker side to TW, they have top spot wrapped up.

ACFC travel to TW & host WU. So WU players working only need a half day off, if reschedule midweek at Kiwitea St?

ES travel to TU & host SU. This is probably hardest games to try reschedule. Probably ES travelling to TU, is easiest if most of the young ES players are 'shamateur' footballers. Imagine yes many of the TU & SU players juggle other employment.

CU travel to WU & also travel to TU. Again possibly hard if most players at all 3 teams also have jobs, but if it's the only midweek game you have all season, surely can try to wrangle one day off. CU to TU midweek as shortest trip.

Obviously NZF staffers have looked at the above, made shark loads of phone calls and it's all too hard. Not taking into account, flights, ground availability, having to reschedule the team's other remaining games all for weekend 9th-10th as well etc etc etc

TeeDubs don't have HBU, they have Hamilton Wanderers in Hamilton. 

NZF not the only national body in NZ, that juggles country verus club issues.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/basketball/110989909...

Looks like the AWs replacements the Solomon Islands, have in turn been replaced by Afghanistan for that Malaysian tourney.

https://www.fam.org.my/

https://www.aseanfootball.org/v3/afghanistan-repla...

More chance of seeing Jesus rise again than a fudgeing all whites fixture. Starting to really annoy me how little effort NZF seems to put into finding games.

Half in jest, but shall we rename the thread 2020 International Matches?

There's the Ireland game in November, so there'll be at least one game this year.

so the title should be changed to 2019 International Friendly

Seconded!

Oman 5 Afghanistan 0.

Singapore 1 Malaysia 0.

Oman verus Singapore in the final.

Malaysia beat Afghanistan 2-1 to finish 3rd.

Oman beat Singapore 5-4 on pens. Match score was 1-1.

https://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/111633911/new-zealand-football-to-announce-small-financial-loss-in-2018-annual-report

If 2021 Confeds Cup is canned, NZF will hoping like hell Oceania gets automatic entry to Qatar 2022 - otherwise the International Teams Fund ITF) will run dry super quick, and the annual financials will start looking real sick. Will be hard to keeping robbing from the cash reserves, if there is no cash.

Interesting that it seems FFs pre World Cup games this year (8 games) are financed by FIFA. Happy to hear that. 

Would be a bit pissed if it was financed solely from the ITF, when that is effectively funds 'earned' by the AWs (2010 WC, Mexican TV money, Confeds Cup appearances etc) and of course the AWs don't play anymore.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/nz-teams/114008183/all-whites-to-play-lithuania-in-november-in-rare-outing

That is a very winnable game.

Taip

this is exactly the type of game we should be having during the windows - an opponent that'll be OK, but where we have a realistic chance of gaining a good result if we turn up and perform. Can be a very positive stepping stone.

More please!

Irish game midweek (14th Nov), and Lithuanian game on the Sunday (17th Nov).

Hopefully Nix get a preceding Friday game (8th Nov), so any Nix AWs only miss the one A League game.

Or a bye on weekend of 16th. 

How many byes in the season? 

If only one maybe better to save it for the March 2020 FIFA window if AWs play again then.