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Ivan Vicelich and Bahrain's Jaycee John fight for the ball - Source: Reuters -
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There's some consolation for fans who missed out on tickets to New Zealand's World Cup football playoff against Bahrain in Wellington - they can now catch some of the atmosphere on a screen at Queen's Wharf.
The All Whites face Bahrain in a sudden-death match on Saturday, with the chance to qualify for the World Cup finals for the first time in 27 years.
The two teams drew 0-0 when they met in Manama last month, putting New Zealand into a must-win position for this week's game at Wellington's stadium.
The already record-breaking 34,500 seats available at the stadium were boosted by 500 last month, and a further 500 added last week sold out within four minutes.
Wellington City Council on Monday confirmed they would be putting up a 40sq-metre screen so those without tickets could still get involved in the crucial game.
"This has been a phenomenon really, we'd sold about 17,000 tickets before the last game against Bahrain," councillor John Morrison said.
"I'm still getting flogged by people wanting tickets. People are wanting to get in at any cost, no matter how much they have to pay."
He said the screen was one way of addressing the problem, giving people the chance to be involved.
It was hoped the screen would be up by Thursday or Friday, Mr Morrison said, but it would definitely be up by lunchtime on Saturday.
In the lead up to the game, the screen would play clips from the 1982 World Cup campaign, when New Zealand famously edged out China to gain a spot in the finals for the first time.
Mr Morrison said the council would be encouraging a family atmosphere on game day so children could get involved as well as adults.
