All Whites striker Chris Wood says he wants more fixtures for the current New Zealand side, including home and away games with Australia at least every four years.
Speaking with head coach Danny Hay at a media conference on Wednesday, Wood said it was “extremely frustrating” not to have games on the schedule.
“We should not be missing the opportunities or chance to play,” Wood said.
“Unfortunately, COVID did put us back a few times but going forward, this squad needs to be playing consistent football.
“We need to be optimising every (international) window we’ve got.”
Hay: ‘We want to bury the demons’
Hay, who’ll decide his future as coach after the series, said no matter who was coach, “this team needs to be playing every single window and they need to be playing against the best possible opposition they can.
“That’s the only way they’re going to evolve and develop.”
Of the games against Australia, Wood said he believed New Zealand had a squad capable of winning.
Hay said the All Whites want to use the games to “bury the demons” of their World Cup play-off loss to Costa Rica in March.
Hay and Wood meet the media
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