Love how two people can read the same thing and take two different meanings. But e isn't eligible. He needed to be eligible when he played the friendly.
Ok let me try and write this out more clearly. PLEASE read the rules properly!
Article 5 states the conditions that tie a player to a certain country (you can read "type of football as friendlies here if you want, although that's not what it means - it's talking about futsal & beach soccer), and states a player may not change unless they meet the requirements in article 8. The requirements needed to change allegiance are NOT stated in this article.
Article 7 states the requirements that are needed by a player in order to be eligible to change to another national team.
Article 8 is the important one. This states the exceptions needed in order to change allegiances. Read this carefully! It categorically states that a player cannot change if he has played an official competition match at 'A' level, or if he has played an official competition match and at the time was ineligible to represent his new country.
That's it. Friendlies are not mentioned at all because they don't count! Fitzgerald has NOT played for NZ in an official competition so may choose to switch if he wants.
I would also like to point to the case of Cristian Gimenez, who played for Argentina U20s in 2001. He got citizenship of Mexico in 2013 and played for Mexico that same year.
He was ineligible to represent Mexico at the time of playing for Argentina, but because the games he played were not deemed as official competition matches (Argentina were invited as 'guests' into the 2001 CONMEBOL Youth Championships) he was allowed to switch to Mexico.