New Zealand confirm Iran as opponent

AUKLAND, Nov 1 (SW) - New Zealand Soccer has announced the first of many pieces that will make up the Confederations Cup jigsaw, with the All Whites confirmed to participate in matches against Iran home and away early next year.

As winners of their respective Confederation championships, the two will clash at North Harbour Stadium in late March (tentatively scheduled for 28th) and in Iran in early April. Coach Mick Waitt will name an 18 man squad for the matches, with European based players available for selection.

New Zealand Soccer has confirmed their involvement in the matches after consultation with the relevant Government agencies eased concerns about travelling to the Middle East in the current political climate, says NZS CEO Bill MacGowan: "As mentioned when Iran won through in Asia, our first concern was the safety of players and management in that part of the world. Our concerns are not with Iran but more with surrounding ‘hot spots’. We have since been assured there should be no problems and subject to any dramatic deterioration, we are committed to the matches and have started discussions with Iran to confirm dates."

The matches will be the last before the All Whites embark on their Confederations Cup build-up proper in late May. A match against Scotland is all but confirmed with interest also from Wales, the Republic of Ireland, Croatia, France, Hungary, Jamaica and Argentina. The match against a French selection is offered on the basis the teams are drawn in opposing groups for the Cup proper.

MacGowan says the team is almost certain to be based in England prior to the tournament: "Mick Waitt, Alex Hayton and I scouted a number of facilities after the recent matches in Europe and were most impressed with what we saw. In particular Mottram Hall (Manchester) and The Springs (Leicester) offered everything we would need."

The All Whites are likely to assemble in England on or around the 23rd May with the Scotland match scheduled for May 27th.