The All Whites will play FIFA World Cup qualifier games in Hamilton and Auckland in November, after New Zealand was confirmed as one of four host nations for the qualifying series.
New Zealand will play Vanuatu at Hamilton’s FMG Waikato Stadium on Friday November 15, 2024, and will meet a yet-to-be-decided opponent in Auckland on Monday November 18, 2024.
The Auckland will be played at Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart.
New Zealand will also host the series semi-finals and final in March 2025.
Andrew Pragnell, chief executive of New Zealand Football, said: “We are thrilled to have won these hosting rights, bringing the All Whites home starting this November 2024 and fate permitting again in March 2025, and excited to begin our FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying journey.
“This helps us fulfil a number of our strategic objectives.
“We have to continue to play the All Whites in every international window and bring them home every year to create excitement, pride, and connection with Kiwis.
“We also believe that this will be the start of our journey to qualify for and win games at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
“We have worked really hard to put our best foot forward with Oceania Football to ensure we are hosting quality tournaments and matches for all of Oceania, hosting the men’s Olympic qualification tournament and OFC Futsal Cup in 2023, so to secure the hosting rights for these critical games in 2024 and 2025 is enormously satisfying.
“Football has already seen huge growth, exacerbated by the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, and we know that is only set to continue with the All Whites campaign to the FIFA World Cup 2026.”
Hamilton mayor Paula Southgate said: “This is fantastic news. We are excited to welcome the All Whites to play in Hamilton for the very first time.
“Not only is this good news for Hamilton’s football fans and players, but it will attract people from across New Zealand as well as international visitors.
“This is a great way to showcase the top-class facilities and hosting we offer, while also supporting our fabulous hospitality and visitor businesses.”
How the qualifying series works
Aotearoa New Zealand will be one of the four hosts of the OFC FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, along with Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, set to get underway from October 2024.
After Round One of qualifying in September in Samoa, which features the hosts alongside Cook Islands, American Samoa and Tonga, match day three in October will be hosted at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva, Fiji and VFF Freshwater Stadium in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
Group A fixtures will take place in Suva on Thursday October 10, with the Solomon Islands to play Fiji and New Caledonia to meet Papua New Guinea.
Group B fixtures will take place in Port Vila on Friday October 11 with New Zealand playing Tahiti and Saturday October 12 with Vanuatu meeting the winner of Round One.
Match day four and five will take place during the November FIFA international window, with matches at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton and Auckland in New Zealand and at PNG Football Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Group A matches in Port Moresby will see Solomon Islands play New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea meet Fiji on Thursday November 14, before the final round of group fixtures sees Fiji meet New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea play Solomon Islands on Sunday November 17.
In Group B, the winner of Round One will face Tahiti, whilst New Zealand will meet Vanuatu at Waikato Stadium on Friday, November 15, before the final group matches are played on Monday November 18, when Tahiti face Vanuatu and New Zealand meet the winner of Round One in Auckland.
The top two sides in Group A and B will progress to the semi-finals, with the winners progressing to the final, all set to be played in Aotearoa New Zealand in March 2025.
Match day six and seven will be held in New Zealand in March, with the Group A winner to meet the Group B runners-up and the Group B winner to face the Group A runner up, followed by the final, to determine which country qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and which country goes to the FIFA Intercontinental play-off tournament.
FIFA World Cup OFC qualifying draw
Group A
- Solomon Islands
- Fiji
- New Caledonia
- Papua New Guinea
Group B
- New Zealand
- Tahiti
- Vanuatu
- Winner round 1
Round 1 fixtures
# indicates OFC order of rankings
Cook Islands (#8) v Tonga (#11)
American Samoa (#9) v Samoa (#10)
Winners of those games will meet to decide who goes through to Group B.
New Zealand fixtures
October
Game to be played on Friday October 11, 2024
FIFA World Cup 2026 – OFC Qualifier
New Zealand v Tahiti
VFF Freshwater Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu, 3pm (NZT)
November fixtures
Game to be played on Friday November 15, 2024
FIFA World Cup 2026 – OFC Qualifier
New Zealand v Vanuatu
FMG Stadium Waikato, Kirikiriroa Hamilton, 7.30pm
Game to be played on Monday November 18, 2024
New Zealand v OFC Qualifier Round One Winner (Samoa)
Go Media Stadium, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, 7.30pm
This story was first published on August 1, 2024, and updated on August 31, 2024.
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