A Covid outbreak in the All Whites squad has seen their friendly against Uzbekistan cancelled.
The game was due to take place tomorrow morning at 4am (NZ time) in Dubai.
According to New Zealand Football, the positive cases were detected as part of the team’s regular testing regime.
They are all currently isolating in Dubai away from the rest of the squad. All players and staff are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, NZ Football says.
New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell said while it comes as a disappointment, it was the only decision that could be made.
“It is fair to say the team and staff are gutted to have to cancel the game but in a situation like this player and staff welfare is the absolute priority. We cannot create further exposure events for the team and staff and be responsible for a possible outbreak in the Uzbekistan team as well.
“We will now be working with the team in Dubai to undertake further testing of the squad before they depart as well as supporting the players who have tested positive while they recover.
“Unfortunately, this is a risk international sport is currently faced with and hugely disappointing for all involved.”
The game was to be used as a warm-up for the World Cup qualifiers which kick off against Papua New Guinea on March 19.
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