New Zealand Football is blaming the increased cost of international travel as the reason there are no more international fixtures for the All Whites until at least March next year.
The All Whites – who suffered an agonising World Cup play-off loss to Costa Rica in June – will play two matches against Australia next week.
But NZF is not looking to play any matches in the November international window.
All Whites coach Danny Hay yesterday expressed his frustrations with the playing hiatus.
"The All Whites need to be playing," he said.
"The opportunities to play against more teams from outside of [Oceania], which November potentially would’ve given the side, I think is vitally important for their continued development."
Danny Hay says the pressure is on Costa Rica as the All Whites fight for a World Cup spot tomorrow. (Source: Photosport)
CEO Andrew Pragnell confirmed to 1News financial restraints were indeed the reason for forgoing November fixtures.
"We want to be playing as often as possible but the realities of international travel, and increased cost of flights especially over the last six months, means that at this stage we aren’t planning for any activity in November as we aren’t unfortunately going to the FIFA World Cup 2022," Pragnell said.
"As an organisation we are in a steady place financially but the increased costs of assembling for an international window is something we need to plan carefully.
"In this situation, as we aren’t going to the World Cup, it made sense for the organisation to save money in this window that can be better utilised as part of the next qualifying cycle."
Joe Bell sits dejected after the All Whites’ World Cup qualifier loss to Costa Rica. (Source: Photosport)
Hay, who is off-contract, also cast doubt on his own future.
He admitted he’s "undecided" about whether he wants to continue as coach.
"To be honest I’m focusing solely on Aussie and then we’ll probably have time to sit down, reflect on how everything’s gone, then make some decisions," he said.
"For me, I don’t know what the future holds, but for this group of players – irrespective of who’s taking them – they are going to do some really good things for the game in our country."
On Hay’s future, Pragnell responded:
"We look forward to sitting down with Danny in October to discuss the future but the focus at the moment, for everyone involved in the team, is playing against Australia."
All Whites squad vs Australia:
Goalkeepers: Alex Paulsen, Oli Sail, Michael Woud.
Defenders: Kyle Adams, Michael Boxall, Liberato Cacace, Dane Ingham, Tim Payne, Nando Pijnaker, Winston Reid, Storm Roux, Bill Tuiloma, Deklan Wynne.
Midfielders: Joe Bell, Matt Garbett, Cam Howieson, Ben Old, Marko Stamenic.
Forwards: Andre de Jong, Alex Greive, Elijah Just, Callum McCowatt, Ben Waine, Chris Wood.
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