By Harrison Ryburn
Striker Moses Dyer hasn’t played for the All Whites since 2018 but says only his performances on the pitch can get him back in the national jersey.
The 11-cap international and former New Zealand U-20 captain is turning heads in Canada, helping his new side Vancouver FC climb to second on the Canadian Premier League (CPL) ladder in a strong start to the season.
Dyer (27) joined Vancouver from USL Championship club FC Tulsa in March 2024, and is a proven goalscorer in the CPL, having previously starred with Valour FC between 2020-2022, where Dyer remains the club’s all-time top scorer with 19 goals in 54 appearances.
As for regaining his spot in the national team, Dyer says: “I don’t really think about it; you either get picked or you don’t. I want it really bad, but at the same time, there’s nothing I can do other than play football to get back in that jersey.”
Main photo: Moses Dyer … letting his match performances do the talking. Photo credit: Vancouver FC / Beau Chevalier.
Palmerston North-born Dyer played youth football for Auckland City and featured for Eastern Suburbs, Hamilton Wanderers and Manukau United in New Zealand, and enjoyed stints with Northcote City FC in Australia, and Florø SK in Norway.
“I’m enjoying playing with my new teammates and working with the coaching staff, and Vancouver is a beautiful place so it makes life outside of football easy,” said Dyer of his life away from home in Canada’s third-largest city.
“When I was in Norway, the language barrier made things harder, but since moving to Canada, it’s been much easier because everything is in English, and the people here are also very nice!”
Dyer has scored three goals and created two assists in his first eight games for Vancouver FC, swiftly rediscovering the fine form he displayed with Valour FC, and appears to be suited to the style of play in the CPL.
“I would say it was easier to play in America (USL), but I’ve scored more goals here. It’s hard to explain, I don’t think I’m in the best goal-scoring form of my career at the moment, but I’m working towards it, and I’m getting there.”
READ MORE: Former All White Moses Dyer makes return to Canadian Premier League >>>>
Established in 2022, Vancouver FC are playing just their second season of CPL football, but Dyer and his teammates have made a strong start to the campaign, picking up 13 points from their first eight games to push the side up to second on the table.
The top five teams at the end of the regular season qualify for the play-offs, with the top two receiving a bye through to the semi-finals.
“We’re a very new team, and there are a lot more established clubs in the league than us, but I think we have the right players to win it or at least make our first run in the play-offs,” said Dyer.
Dyer hasn’t forgotten his roots either though, and growing up playing in the New Zealand National League with Eastern Suburbs and Wanderers SC, he also draws some comparisons between the level of football in both countries.
“There’s definitely a lot of similarities, and the style of football can be chaotic at times.”
“Both countries are really starting to develop their football, but the difference in quality is ultimately evident in Canada because there are more professional pathways,” he said.
“I sometimes still watch the local football back in New Zealand because it is streamed, and when I can’t sleep at night, I’ll check if there’s a game on. It’s very nostalgic.”
Looking back on some of his career highlights thus far, Dyer remembers captaining New Zealand at the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, and scoring his first international goal for the All Whites against India in 2018 as his best moments.
Perhaps his favorite memory though, was making his full international debut for New Zealand at the age of just 18 in a 0-1 defeat to South Korea in March 2015.
“I went from playing in New Zealand in front of crowds of 200 people max, to playing in front of 45,000 against all these stars from South Korea where you couldn’t hear anything.”
For now, Dyer’s focus is fully on Vancouver FC, who will look to record their fourth-consecutive CPL win when they travel to York United on Monday June 10 (NZT).
Harrison Ryburn
Harrison Ryburn is a Canterbury-based football writer.
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