The All Whites will go into this month’s Oceania FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament with a squad brimming with promise but low in experience at full international level.
Seventeen of the 30-strong squad named by head coach Danny Hay have five or fewer full international appearances to their name, with five still to make their All Whites debuts.
However the squad has a core of players who have benefitted from their pathway through the national age group sides, and young players who were part of last year’s Olywhites at the Tokyo Olympics.
The squad selection was influenced by the unavailability of some experienced players including Michael Boxall, Elliot Collier and Sarpeet Singh who have injuries.
Ryan Thomas and Michael Woud were not available for selection.
Hay: ‘We have shown people what we are capable of’
Coach Hay told NZ Football’s website:
“We knew this would be a challenging squad to put together but I’m confident in the team we’ve been able to assemble.
“I want to thank all the clubs for the flexibility they have shown when making their players available.
“Over the past year, we have shown people what we are capable of as a team. Now is when we have to put everything we have been talking about into practice as we fight to return to the FIFA World Cup.”
The qualifying tournament
The eight-nation tournament will take place in Qatar from March 18-31.
New Zealand are drawn in Group B against Fiji, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia.
The winner of the tournament will play the fourth-placed CONCACAF team in a one-game play-off in mid-June.
The 2022 All Whites
6 caps or more
Chris Wood (61 caps) Newcastle United, England*
Kosta Barbarouses (47 caps) Sydney FC, Australia+
Tommy Smith (42 caps) Colchester United, England
Bill Tuiloma (28 caps) Portland Timbers, USA*
Stefan Marinovic (27 caps) Hapoel Nof HaGalil, Israel*
Winston Reid (27 caps) Unattached
Tim Payne (21 caps) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand*
Clayton Lewis (16 caps) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand+
Cam Howieson (13 caps) Auckland City FC, New Zealand
Liberato Cacace (6 caps) FC Empoli, Italy (LOAN)*
Dane Ingham (8 caps) Newcastle Jets, Australia+
Andre de Jong (6 caps) AmaZulu FC, South Africa
Elijah Just (6 caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark*
5 caps or fewer
Joe Bell (5 caps) Bröndby IF, Denmark*
Callum McCowatt (5 caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark*
Logan Rogerson (4 caps) FC Haka, Finland
Nando Pijnaker (4 caps) Sligo Rovers, Ireland (LOAN)*
Marko Stamenic (4 caps) HB Køge, Denmark (LOAN)*
Joe Champness (3 caps) Giresunspor, Turkey
Nikko Boxall (3 caps) San Diego Loyal, USA
Matthew Garbett (3 caps) Torino, Italy
Niko Kirwan (3 caps) Calcio Padova, Italy
Francis de Vries (2 caps) IFK Värnamo, Sweden
Alex Greive (1 cap) St Mirren, Scotland*
Dalton Wilkins (1 cap) Kolding IF, Denmark+
Uncapped
Matthew Gould (0 caps) Altrincham FC, England
Oli Sail (0 caps) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand+
Jamie Searle (0 caps) Swansea City, Wales*
Ben Old (0 caps, debut senior call-up) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand+
Ben Waine (0 caps, debut senior call-up) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand+
* Joining from 19 March onwards
+ Leaving from 22 March onwards
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