Photo: Collage/Photosport
Two of the English Premier League's top goalscorers are set to go head-to-head in October when the All Whites take on Norway in Oslo in an international friendly.
The match will likely pit Manchester City's Erling Haaland, currently second in the English Premier League golden boot race with 19 goals, against All Whites captain and Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood, who is the league's third highest goalscorer on 18.
Nottingham Forest sit third in the Premier League three points ahead of Manchester City in fourth place.
Should the All Whites win next month's Oceania World Cup qualifiers in Wellington and Auckland, to secure a place at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the USA, the match will form a critical part of the team's build-up programme of fixtures.
"If we win and secure a place at the FIFA World Cup 2026 , it's critical that we face top players and opposition to put us in the best position to perform at the tournament" All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley said.
New Zealand All Whites coach Darren Bazeley. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
"We absolutely are not taking anything for granted this March, but if we come through the qualifiers, we need to have a full programme of games lined up so we have been working hard in the background to lock in some top tier fixtures to really test ourselves against the sort of sides we could face in 2026.
Norway were ranked 43rd in the world and New Zealand 89th.
The All Whites will play Fiji in the semi-finals of the Oceania World Cup Qualifiers on March 21 in Wellington with the winner advancing to the final in Auckland three days later.
The winner of that match will automatically qualify for the World Cup finals, the first time in the history of the tournament that Oceania has had direct entry following the competing nations being increased to 48.
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