Interesting news snippet in this AV article.
Referring to Eden Park
"All Whites coach Danny Hay has expressed interest in playing the home leg of the intercontinental qualifying playoff for the 2022 men’s World Cup there, should his team make it that far, in an effort to build it up as a chance for the current team to make their own history.
NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell was at Eden Park on Friday and said plans for that potential fixture, now scheduled for June 2022, were yet to be determined, with Sky Stadium in Wellington, the host for the last three such matches, the other contender."
Thought they may well change the date from March to June 2022. Good news.
This is a big boost to the AW's chances (yes providing they finish top dog in OFC). Means that providing club football life has returned somewhat to normal post Covid, all the European club seasons should be well over come June. Means that likes of Wood, Smith, Singh, Thomas, Bell, Cacace, Woud etc won't still have club commitments, and won't have to rush from a weekend club game to the airport, then fly out to NZ immediately post after.
For once the AWs should be able to go into these two huge games with a good 2-3 week buildup camp, and a proper warm up game prior. Getting the MLS guys for the same length of time maybe problematic. Tricky also if the A League is hell bent on becoming a winter league, with June-July as the business end.
But still should be so much better than playing these games shoehorned into a November or March FIFA window. Come 2022 the key AWs players will mostly be based in Europe, you would think.
Plus whoever is the intercontinental playoff opponent, may not enjoy a June winter night in the capital or Auckland, as opposed to balmy Wellington in Nov.