It will also feel quite different. Twelve of the 26-man World Cup squad aren’t on tour, including the likes of Sarpreet Singh and Libby Cacace, who are both injured, while Michael Boxall, Ryan Thomas, Tim Payne and Max Crocombe are focusing on club commitments. Joe Bell is having a physical break, along with Francis de Vries, who racked up so many minutes with Auckland FC last season, while Chris Wood and Finn Surman will only join the group for the matches in Japan against Panama and either Ecuador or Japan.
Michael Boxall, who isn’t available for this tour, tussles with Mohammed Salah at the Fifa World Cup. Photo / Photosport
It means that of the 11 players who started in the 5-1 defeat to Belgium, only Marko Stamenic, Elijah Just and Callum McCowatt could take the field against Palestine. It represents a chance for players who had restricted minutes in North America – such as Ben Old and Jesse Randall – along with others who missed out completely (Ben Waine, Logan Rogerson, Alex Rufer) to get game time.
There will also be new faces, including former Auckland City FC forward Stipe Ukich, defender George Stanger, and Cambodia-based forward Moses Dyer, who was a regular for a period under former coach Anthony Hudson but hasn’t featured since 2018.
Historically, the All Whites have often taken different paths in the first window after a Fifa World Cup. After the 2006 event in Germany, they had a tour of England and Spain, with games against Charlton Athletic, Blackburn Rovers (then featuring All Whites captain Ryan Nelsen) and Seville.
The All Whites faced Honduras in Auckland in their first game after the 2010 World Cup adventure. Photo / Photosport
In 2010, following the epic World Cup adventure in South Africa, New Zealand Football organised a quasi-homecoming tour, with matches against Honduras and Paraguay in Auckland and Wellington respectively, to capitalise on the residual buzz.
Hudson’s first match in charge – after the 2010-2014 cycle – was a clash with Uzbekistan in Tashkent, which proved to be the end of the road for some players. Four years later, after the intercontinental playoff series with Peru in 2017, the action started again with a one-off game against Canada in Spain, the first match of Fritz Schmid’s short tenure, with a young squad including eight uncapped players.
Possibly the best post-cycle window came in 2022, with a two-match series against Australia, the first clashes against the Socceroos since 2011, with games in Brisbane and Auckland, where a crowd of more than 35,000 was attracted to Eden Park.
Chris Wood in the 2022 clash against Australia in Brisbane. Photo / Photosport
Thursday’s match might be small beer in comparison but it is important nonetheless. It’s the first step towards bigger games next week and an opportunity for fringe players to show their wares.
Palestine also need to be respected. Despite the horrific events of the past three years, where Gaza City has essentially been destroyed along with increasing conflict in the West Bank, they have somehow managed to maintain a football programme. And the team, currently ranked 95 by Fifa, have managed some impressive results, with wins over Qatar, Algeria and draws with South Korea and Oman in the past two years.
All Whites – September/October matches
Sept 24, 9.30pm: v Palestine; Tongliang Long Stadium, Chongqing
Sept 28, 12.35am: v China; Longxing Football Stadium, Chongqing
Oct 1, 7.10pm: v Panama; National Stadium, Yokohama
Oct 5, 7.30pm or 11.30pm: v Ecuador or Japan; International Stadium, Tokyo
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.