Head coach Marvin Eakins has named his 14-man squad for the OFC Futsal Nations Cup, a tournament to decide who will represent Oceania at the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
The squad is unchanged from the group that went to China in September, beating the 86th world-ranked Chinese Men’s National Futsal team in Beijing, winning 5-0 and 6-2.
Main photo: The Futsal Whites who played in China. Photo credit: NZ Football.
Eakins said: “The games in China were a great opportunity for us to get back together and refine some of the things we’ve been working on for the past few years.
“I was pleased with the performances and also saw a few things we could work on and improve ahead of the World Cup Qualifiers in October.
“Those that have followed the Futsal Whites for some time will know how much winning this competition means, not only to myself but to the whole NZ futsal community.
“This group will leave everything on the court in October, and we are determined to win the competition and secure qualification to the World Cup by the end.”
New Zealand Futsal Whites squad
Rahan Ali | 7 Caps / 10 Goals | Moreland Futsal
Mike Antamanov | 7 Caps / 0 Goals | Auckland City FC
Stephen Ashby-Peckham | 36 Caps / 12 Goals | Auckland City FC
Jordan Ditfort | 18 Caps / 9 Goals | Bloomsbury Futsal
Hamish Grey | 7 Caps / 5 Goals | Unattached
Oban Hawkins | 15 Caps / 5 Goals | Southern United
Dylan Manickum | 58 Caps / 34 Goals | Auckland City FC
Ethan Martin | 7 Caps / 6 Goals | Waikato Rapids
Adam Paulsen | 7 Caps / 3 Goals | Auckland City FC
Thomas Picken | 2 Caps / 0 Goals | Auckland City FC
Casey Sharplin | 7 Caps / 1 Goal | Waikato Rapids
Patrick Steele | 7 Caps / 0 Goals | Waikato Rapids
Art Twigg | 2 Caps / 2 Goals | Auckland City FC
Logan Wisnewski | 15 Caps / 3 Goals | Bloomsbury Futsal
Eakins’ has named Dylan Manickum (58 caps / 34 goals) captain of the squad for the competition.
Manickum, a mainstay of the Futsal Whites since his debut in 2010, is one cap short of equaling Eakins’ own record as the highest-capped Futsal Whites player of all time with 59 caps, and is likely to become New Zealand’s most-capped player during the tournament.
OFC Futsal Nations Cup — tournament schedule
Group A
New Zealand
Vanuatu
Fiji
Tonga
Group B
Solomon Islands
New Caledonia
Tahiti
Samoa
The tournament will take place from October 1-7, 2023, at Papakura’s Bruce Pulman Arena.
New Zealand fixtures
Game to be played on Sunday October 1, 2023
New Zealand v Vanuatu
Bruce Pulman Arena, Takanini, 4pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Monday October 2, 2023
New Zealand v Fiji
Bruce Pulman Arena, Takanini, 7pm (NZT)
Game to be played on Wednesday October 4, 2023
New Zealand v Tonga
Bruce Pulman Arena, Takanini, 4pm (NZT)
Knockout phase
Semi-finals will take place on Thursday October 5 and the finals on Saturday October 7.
Match schedule
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