Red Devils will play against Ivory Coast instead of New Zealand
The Red Devils will play against Ivory Coast and not New Zealand in a friendly match in Brussels on 8 October.
New Zealand has had to cancel due to the organisational problems related to the strict Covid-19 measures.
“We are incredibly disappointed to be in this position, but from the outset our first priority was our players”, says Andrew Pragnell, CEO of the New Zealand Football Association. “As it currently stands, we are unable to get enough of our players to the game and back to their respective countries without major disruptions to their domestic seasons.”
With Ivory Coast (60th in the FIFA-ranking) , the Red Devils will compete against a stronger opponent than New Zealand (121st).
National team manager Roberto Martínez feels sorry for New Zealand being forced to cancel their trip, but is happy with Ivory Coast as a replacement.
"This is a team that has players of the highest level who are performing well at the moment, such as Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace) and Nicolas Pépé (Arsenal). It gives us a competitive opponent for our first camp with 3 matches. Hopefully, there will be an opportunity to have some fans in the stadium, which we forward to."
Contact
Stefan Van Loock
Press & Media Officer Belgian Red Devils & Belgian Red Flames
GSM +32 477 63 93 36
stefan.van.loock@rbfa.be
