The host venues for the final stage of the FIFA World Cup 26™ Oceania Qualifiers have been confirmed, with the semi-finals to be played at Wellington’s Sky Stadium and final to be held at Auckland’s Eden Park in March 2025.
The two semi-finals will take place at Sky Stadium on Friday 21 March, kicking off at 3pm and 7pm, local time.
The final, where the winner will secure direct entry to the FIFA World Cup 26™ in Canada, Mexico, and the USA, will take place at Eden Park on Monday 24 March, kicking off at 7pm, local time.
The losing finalist will be entered into the FIFA Intercontinental Playoff Tournament with five teams from other FIFA confederations, with two final spots up for grabs at the FIFA showpiece tournament.
The four teams that take part in the semi-finals in Wellington will be decided following the final two rounds of group games, set to be played over the next week during the FIFA international window in New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell highlights the significance of these games being played in Aotearoa.
“It is an honour to host these incredibly significant games in New Zealand and all going well over the week ahead, we will bring together our professional players from around the globe to compete on the international stage as the final hurdle for teams from Oceania to qualify for the biggest sporting event in the world.
“We saw Kiwis turn out in their thousands for the FIFA Women’s World Cup last year, so we look forward to welcoming fans to these games which are the most significant men’s matches played in this country since 2017,” Pragnell said.
Tickets for the semi-finals and final will go on presale to New Zealand Football’s Football Whānau on 19 November 2024.
General sale for the games will be on 26 November 2024.