The Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament in Qatar - where the All Whites are competing - has been hit by Covid chaos on the opening day.
The match between Vanuatu and Tahiti scheduled for Friday morning was abandoned after Vanuatu was unable to field a squad due to a number of Covid cases in their ranks.
The Oceania Football Confederation said in a statement Friday the majority of the squad had tested positive via RATs just before leaving for the stadium.
“Vanuatu would not have had enough players to field a team,” the organisation said.
“OFC is working with FIFA on the matter and will provide a further update in due course.”
FIFA regulations for World Cup qualifying state tournaments should "proceed as scheduled whenever possible" if a match is called off due to a lack of available players.
The All Whites open their campaign in Qatar on Saturday against Papua New Guinea with a young squad at the ready before taking on Fiji and New Caledonia next week.
The semi-finals then take place on Monday March 28 before the final three days later.
In Friday's other opening match, Solomon Islands beat the Cook Islands 2-0.
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