The All Whites have locked in their next international fixtures with the team set to take part in the new Canadian Shield tournament, taking place in Toronto, Canada this June. 

The All Whites will face Côte d'Ivoire (FIFA rank 46) on Sunday 8 June at 11am NZT (Saturday 7 June at 7pm local time) followed by Ukraine (FIFA rank 25) on Wednesday 11 June at 9am NZT (Tuesday 10 June at 5pm local time).

Both games will take place at BMO Field in Toronto which will also host games during the FIFA World Cup 2026. 

The tournament will award three points for a win, one point for a draw and two points for a shootout win.

All matches will have a winner and games will go directly to penalties after 90 minutes (plus injury time). 

Should the All Whites win the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 – Oceania Qualifiers, taking place this month, the games will form part of the crucial build up programme of fixtures, as well as providing a taste of playing in a tournament in one of the 2026 host cities. 

Aotearoa New Zealand faces Fiji in the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup 2026 – Oceania Qualifiers this Friday (21 March 2025) at Sky Stadium in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, with the winner qualifying for the final, against the winner of the New Caledonia v Tahiti second semi-final, on 24 March 2025 at Eden Park in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Should the All Whites win it will see Aotearoa New Zealand represented at the men’s FIFA World Cup for the first time in 16 years.

All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley is looking forward to the prospect of facing two challenging teams in the Canadian Shield tournament:

“We have looked to put in place a programme of games so that should we qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026, we will have faced a range of opponents in the build up, and both Côte d'Ivoire and Ukraine will provide a real test for us, which is exactly what we want. 

“It will also be a great opportunity to be part of a tournament played in another one of the host countries to give us a taste of what we could face in 2026 if we win our qualification games this month.”

Article added: Thursday 20 March 2025