New Zealand buoyed by Wood inclusion for World Cup qualifiers

New Zealand will have striker Chris Wood available for most of their Oceania World Cup qualifiers in an unexpected bonus, coach Danny Hay said.

The Newcastle United forward was not expected to link up with the squad in Qatar until after New Zealand's first two pool games but he no longer has club commitments this weekend due to a scheduling change.

"It's earlier than we expected," Hay told New Zealand media.

"Which is a nice little pleasant surprise for the group. He'll have a reasonable lead in for that second game as well so I've got no doubt that he'll be chomping at the bit."

New Zealand open their Oceania campaign against Group B rivals Papua New Guinea later on Friday before playing Fiji on March 21 and New Caledonia three days later.

The eight-team tournament, which runs through to March 30, will decide which team advances to a playoff against the fourth-placed side from the CONCACAF region, which features nations from North and Central America, and the Caribbean.

New Zealand were the last Oceania team to qualify for the World Cup when they made the 2010 finals in South Africa.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Stephen Coates)