All Whites’ next opponents revealed? Cape Verde football boss spills the beans
Saturday, 27 December 2025
The world No 87 All Whites look set to play two of Cape Verde, Chile and Finland at home during the March international window, in their final matches before their World Cup squad is named in May.
New Zealand Football announced earlier this month that a FIFA Series event would be held in Auckland in March, with financial backing from the government and the global governing body.
The identities of the other three teams taking part were set to be announced in mid-January, but Cape Verde football federation president Mário Semedo appears to have revealed them ahead of schedule.
The small African nation, ranked 67th in the world, has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2026.
Cape Verde media outlet Radiotelevisão Caboverdiana [RTC] reported on Christmas Eve that they, Chile and Finland would be travelling to New Zealand in March.
The president of their football federation, Mário Semedo, gave an interview to RTC where he described the tournament as an “exciting opportunity”.
NZ Football chief executive Andrew Pragnell has been contacted for comment.
World No 57 Chile and world No 75 Finland have not qualified for next year’s tournament, to be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Chile finished last in South American qualifying, winning just two of their 18 matches.
They were nine points adrift of seventh-placed Bolivia, who will play in the intercontinental playoffs in Mexico in March and 17 points behind sixth-placed Paraguay, the last of the region’s automatic qualifiers.
Finland finished third in their group in European qualifying, behind the Netherlands, who qualified automatically, and Poland, who now have to win two playoff matches in March.
They won three of their eight matches, beating Malta twice and Lithuania once.
The format for the FIFA Series event in Auckland is yet to be confirmed.
Matches are expected to be played between March 26 and 31, with venues yet to be confirmed as well.
Past events have typically featured two semifinals followed by a playoff for third, though there is scope for New Zealand Football as hosts to make alternative arrangements.
If the All Whites were to play Finland, it would be just their fifth full international against a European nation on home soil – and their first in more than 30 years.
In 1982, ahead of New Zealand’s first World Cup appearance, they had a pair of 2-1 losses to Hungary in Auckland and Christchurch.
In 1991, as part of the game’s centenary celebrations, they hosted England for a pair of matches, losing 1-0 in Auckland and 2-0 in Wellington.
New Zealand and Finland have never met before at any level of men’s football. Nor have New Zealand and Cape Verde.
The All Whites have played Chile on four occasions, including in Auckland in 1998, where the two teams drew 0-0.
The All Whites have never beaten a South American opponent, most recently losing 2-1 to Colombia and 2-0 to Ecuador in the United States in November.
NZ Football is looking to arrange two final warm-up matches for the All Whites at the start of June. They will likely be played in the US.
The All Whites have been drawn in group G for the 48-team tournament, alongside world No 8 Belgium, No 20 Iran and No 34 Egypt.
After three losses in 1982 and three draws in 2010, they will be seeking their first World Cup win next year.