The teams were due to play at 19:00 on February 1 (Dubai time) at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai, UAE.

The positive cases were detected as part of the New Zealand team’s regular testing regime. They are all currently isolated away from the rest of the squad. All players and staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 

New Zealand Football CEO Andrew Pragnell was hugely disappointed to cancel the game but is confident it was the only decision that could be made:

“It is fair to say the team and staff are gutted to have to cancel the game but in a situation like this player and staff welfare is the absolute priority. We cannot create further exposure events for the team and staff and be responsible for a possible outbreak in the Uzbekistan team as well. We will now be working with the team in Dubai to undertake further testing of the squad before they depart as well as supporting the players who have tested positive while they recover,” Andrew Pragnell said.