Aotearoa New Zealand has been drawn in Group A at the OFC Men’s Nations Cup 2024 alongside New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and hosts Vanuatu. 

The All Whites will play all Group matches in Port Villa at the VFF Freshwater Stadium, kicking off on 15 June 2024 against New Caledonia, followed by Solomon Islands on 18 June 2024 and Vanuatu on 21 June 2024. 

Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti and the winner of the Qualifying tournament will make up the second group, Group B.

The top two sides from both Group A and Group B will meet in the Semi-Finals on 26 June 2024, with the winners competing in the Final on 30 June 2024. 

Darren Bazeley’s team will enter the tournament as the holders, following their 2016 win, after the 2020 edition of the competition was cancelled due to COVID-19. 

“This tournament represents a great opportunity to potentially play up to five competitive and challenging games in a competition environment” says All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley.

“We know we will likely be coming up against a number of teams at this tournament in FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying later this year, so along with looking to test the side against higher ranked nations around the world in other FIFA international windows, it is important that we challenge ourselves against who we will be facing in order to make it to Canada, Mexico and the USA.

“The tournament also gives us the opportunity to have the team together for a longer period than a regular international window normally allows which is important for our development as a side, especially ahead the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics in July which will involve a number of members of the senior side.”

Article added: Wednesday 24 January 2024