Coach Alain Moizan and his charges are preparing to begin Stage 3 of Oceania qualifying for Brazil 2014 – a quest that kicks off against New Zealand’s All Whites on September 7 – and have invited the Mariners to the capital of the French territory to assist them in their build-up.
The games are scheduled to take place on the evenings of August 16 and 18 at the Stade Numa Daly and mark the first two fixtures of the Mariners’ pre-season.
Coach Graham Arnold knows New Caledonia will provide a stern test for his players but says the results of the matches will not be of importance.
“We are keen to help New Caledonia in their preparation and are honoured that their football federation has invited us to Noumea for the games,” the former Australia international says.
“For us, the friendlies will be about getting minutes into the legs of our players. The stakes are currently a lot higher for New Caledonia, who have performed impressively against their Oceanic opposition recently.
“Although the trip is only five days I am pleased with the opportunity to get the players into a camp situation.”
Les Cagous will approach the meeting with New Zealand and subsequent World Cup qualifiers in a confident frame of mind after beating the All Whites in the semi-finals of the OFC Nations Cup, held in the Solomon Islands during June, and going on to finish runners-up.
They are no strangers to facing sides from the A-League, the most prestigious club competition in this part of the world, after also facing the now defunct Gold Coast United in several friendly matches in recent years.
The Mariners will provide them with ideal opposition prior to the New Zealand clash as Arnold’s men took out the minor premiership in the last A-League season before being knocked out by Perth Glory in the preliminary final on penalties.
New Caledonia will also take on Solomon Islands and fellow francophones Tahiti during Stage 3 of the World Cup qualifiers, a tournament that consists of a round-robin home-and-away play-off series based on a league system. The winner will advance to an inter-continental play-off against the fourth-placed CONCACAF nation, scheduled to be held in November 2013, for a berth at Brazil 2014.
For the full match schedule of the Oceanian Zone Stage 3 Qualifiers 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ click here
Central Coast Mariners tour of Noumea
New Caledonia vs Central Coast Mariners
Thursday 16 August
7pm local kick-off
Stade Numa Daly
New Caledonia vs Central Coast Mariners
Saturday 18 August
6pm local kick-off
Stade Numa Daly

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