Football: An unfair scenario? How All Whites could face FIFA World Cup qualifying matches without many of their key players

Chris Wood of the All Whites reacts after scoring against The Gambia. Photosport

Next March, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will face a World Cup qualifying mini-tournament, along with Italy, North Macedonia and Turkey, to win a precious UEFA spot in Qatar next November.

There will be extremely high stakes — given what is on the line — but imagine if Portugal were forced to play those matches without Ronaldo.

And his Manchester United compatriot Bruno Fernandes, powerful defender Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix and Liverpool striker Diogo Jota, because they were all unavailable.

That's a crazy, impossible scenario, that would never be allowed to happen, but it could be the situation the All Whites find themselves in, for part of their own regional qualifying tournament held at the same time.

World Cup qualifying will be heating up next March, with 58 countries in action across the European, African, Asian, South American, CONCACAF and Oceania confederations.
Fifty-seven of those nations will be able to select from full strength squads, but one (New Zealand) may not.

That's a distinct possibility, if part of the OFC qualifying tournament is played outside the Fifa window (March 21-29).

The OFC shakedown was meant to be staged across multiple dates over the last two years, before the Covid-19 pandemic made that impossible.

The confederation settled on a one-off tournament, with the innovative solution of playing in Qatar, after no potential host nations came forward in this region.
The preferred format for the eight-nation event involves five match days (three group games, semifinal and final), across a period of almost three weeks, including preparation time.

OFC has lobbied Fifa for an extension of the current nine-day window (March 21-30) but that is problematic, with clubs in opposition, especially given the stage of the season.
A proposed alternative format of three knockout matches (quarter-final, semi and final) would involve less disruption, though it's believed some Oceania nations are reluctant to assemble a squad and travel to the Middle East with the prospect of playing just one match.

The format will be confirmed next week (Tuesday 9am NZT) and, if the elongated option is rubber-stamped, it could present major logistical problems for the All Whites.
While New Zealand will still be heavily favoured, given their greater depth, things are not always straightforward in football, as witnessed at the OFC Nations Cup in Honiara in 2012.

The All Whites have missed key players for qualifying games before, but never faced the scenario of multiple games outside a window during the club season.

Burnley have vital matches against Brentford (March 13) and Southampton (March 20) and won't want to be without Chris Wood, their leading scorer for the last four Premier League seasons.

It's a similar scenario for Sarpreet Singh, Liberato Cacace, Joe Bell and many other European-based players, while Winston Reid is likely to have a club by then.
It also won't be easy securing A-League players, as the Phoenix have four games scheduled between March 12 and April 1, not to mention the ongoing travel uncertainty from Australasia.

The Herald understands that participating teams could be allowed to select a larger-than-usual squad, due to the varying availability of players, but that is still less than optimal.
The All Whites have dozens of professional players, whereas their Oceania rivals are almost totally comprised of domestic-based personnel.

"We should be encouraging as many players as possible to play at the highest level — it's great for the region," All Whites coach Danny Hay told the Herald earlier this month.
"[But] we are going to be adversely affected, with our players in professional environments and clubs not needing to release them.

"It would be wholly unfair if we are getting punished because we have got players playing professional football, when other nations don't.

"I don't see how that is fair. We are not talking an international friendly here; we are talking World Cup qualifying and we all know what is at stake for that.

"You hope the format and the regulations that service that will allow us to have a fair shot at qualification."