New Zealand now know all their opponents — and the venue — for November’s FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup.
After stripping Peru of its hosting rights, FIFA have confirmed the 24-nation tournament will go ahead in Indonesia from November 10 till December 2, 2023.
Indonesia has been asked to pull together a squad as they get an automatic qualification as hosts.
New Zealand and New Caledonia qualified for the World Cup by reaching the final of the OFC U-17 Championship.
Meanwhile, the last places at the tournament have been confirmed with four qualifiers found at the U-17 Asian Cup, taking place in June in Thailand.
They are Iran, Japan, South Korea and Uzbekistan, who have reached the Asian Cup semi-finals.
Australia have missed a place at the World Cup, after losing 3-1 to Japan in the quarter-finals, while Yemen missed out, losing their last eight game on penalties to Iran.
The 2023 FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup will be the first in four years after organisers were forced to cancel the 2019 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The draw for this year’s tournament will be held in August in Jakarta.
Main photo: Captain Dylan Gardiner raises the OFC U-17 Men’s Championship trophy as New Zealand earns qualification to the November U-17 World Cup. Photo: Kirk Corrie / Phototek.
READ MORE: Dylan Gardiner — The towering centre back with dreams of World Cup glory >>>>
The 24 nations to qualify
The following have confirmed their places at the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup:
- New Zealand and New Caledonia, through reaching the final of the OFC U-17 Championship in Fiji.
- Canada, United States, Mexico and Panama, who qualified through the 16-nation CONCACAF U-17 Championship tournament in Guatemala.
- Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador, through the South American U-17 Championship.
- Senegal, Morocco, Mali and Burkina Faso, through the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
- France, Germany, Poland, Spain and England, through the U-17 European Championship.
- Iran, South Korea, Japan and Uzbekistan, through the U-17 Asian Cup.
- Indonesia, as hosts
READ MORE: Our previous stories about the New Zealand U-17 men’s team >>>>
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