This All Whites Squad for the Intercontinental Cup… Not The Most Experienced You’ve Ever Seen
You know, there’s nothing wrong with picking an inexperienced team. Just want to make that clear in case there are people out there yapping about cheapening the jersey or whatever. You’ve got to pick a team for the circumstances and these circumstances are such that the young guns make the most sense. Think of it as an opportunity.
Okay so the European season has just ended, Chris Wood’s been running around for eight full months as a Burnley player, trying to prove himself at the top level. Before that he played a few final times for Leeds after a full preseason and before that he went to the Confederations Cup. Safe to say he could use a break. Safe to say he’ll be a better player for it. Safe to say that potentially four games in less than two weeks following an injury-tinged season might not be the best for him and that’s got nothing to do with his dedication or commitment to the national team. He’s more than proved himself in that area already.
That’s your most high-profile example. Then you’ve got injuries to Ryan Thomas and Winston Reid which takes care of the other pair of the holy kiwi trinity of outfielders. As for the star man between the sticks? Stefan Marinovic is also injured so never mind.
Having said that, he wouldn’t have been considered anyway with the MLS hot in the middle of their season and these games taking place outside of any FIFA windows. Those clubs might have released their players if we’d asked nicely but it’s better to save that card for a more pertinent time. It’s not like too many of those kiwi lads in the MLS are playing for teams that are shredding the competition either. The Colorado Rapids are currently last in the Western Conference.
So you rule out Michael Boxall, Jake Gleeson, Bill Tuiloma, Elliot Collier (also injured), Deklan Wynne, Tommy Smith and Kip Colvey. There have also been exemptions for familiar faces such as Jeremy Brockie (who has just finished up his season in South Africa), Mike McGlinchey, Kosta Barbarouses, Marco Rojas and Themi Tzimopoulos. Then consider that Storm Roux hasn’t exactly been a regular lad for these squads and that Tyler Boyd still appears perpetually unavailable. Chuck in the relatively recent retirements of Andy Durante, Shane Smeltz and Glen Moss… sure, Rory Fallon too, why not? … and there goes all but three of the squad that was named for the Peru qualifiers. 20 of those 23 players are not going to India. That’s wild.
But, again, this is a great opportunity. We’re talking about international footy and it’s well known that it’s tough to get clubs to release our top players at the best of times. Chris Wood is now in that Premier League bubble where we can’t expect him to fly back for every game, just like Winston Reid and Ryan Nelsen before him. All goods, he’s doing more for football in this country by scoring goals against Tottenham and Everton than he would scoring goals against Chinese Taipei.
Need it be said that Victor Wanyama won’t be in the Kenya's team for the tournament either? Okay then, I’ll say it: He won’t be there. Guaranteed. Lock it in.
Realistically a full strength All Whites squad would have at least a dozen players who are unavailable for this tour, potentially up to 18 of them… but how often can we expect a full strength All Whites squad? Basically only for intercontinental playoffs and major tournaments. Otherwise we’re always going to need to rely on the depth below those top blokes and that’s what we get to see in India in a week’s time.
It’s a squad short on experience, with not even a hundred caps between them all and only three combined goals – versus 595 caps and 77 goals named to play Peru. But it’s a young squad with plenty of players who could be around this team for many years to come, not to mention filling out those rather important Nations Cup squads where once again we’re not going to see the very best players risked and nor should we.
Rightio then, let’s take a peek.
GOALKEEPERS
Max Crocombe – Salford City, ENG (1 cap/0 goals)
Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon, ENG (0/0)
Michael Woud – Sunderland, ENG (0/0)
Three English-based keepers to do the business in India. We’ll probably get a look at at least a couple of them, with the bulk of games making sense for a little squad rotation – an idea that goes for the whole lineup. Crocombe had a great season with Salford as the team got promoted into the National League, England’s fifth tier, where they should continue to be pretty competitive. He also started the friendly against Canada recently so you’d expect him to be first choice.
However Michael Woud is the one with the most potential. Still a teenager, he got a handful of games in for Sunderland’s U23s this season and is well ahead of schedule to be playing first team footy somewhere within a few years. Might even be a loan candidate next season. Nik Tzanev is a couple years older and playing third-string with Wimbledon. Only played for the reserves last season but his contract’s been retained so he’s working his way up.
Cameron Brown trained with the side but has only been named to the stand-by list. He was one of Woud’s backups at the previous U20 World Cup. Neither Ollie Sail nor Keegan Smith from the Wellington Phoenix cracked this squad but, on the face of it, Schmiddy’s picked the three best available glovemen. Same three as he took to Spain in March.
DEFENDERS
Nikko Boxall – Viborg FF, DEN (0/0)
Sam Brotherton – Sunderland, ENG (10/0)
Liberato Cacace – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (0/0)
Thomas Doyle – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (9/0)
Justin Gulley – Team Wellington, NZ (0/0)
Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi – Auckland City, NZ (5/0)
Dane Ingham – Brisbane Roar, AUS (7/0)
Adam Mitchell – Bolton Wanderers, ENG (1/0)
Slightly tricky task to fill out a back four with this lot, given that the entire preferred backline is absent. Tom Doyle does bring more experience than his nine caps there suggest and ought to be one of the first names on the team sheet (possibly even captain!?)… allowing for experimentation, of course. As a genuine first XI dude at the Phoenix, he’s a rare regular at a pro team within this defence. Nikko Boxall does his thing in Denmark but is uncapped at international level, one of six uncapped players in this squad.
Sam Brotherton’s been in and out and mostly out of the Sunderland U23s, a situation that should get clearer next campaign with a good old fashioned clean out of the first team following another relegation. Dane Ingham played a couple Confeds Cup games and was blatantly outclassed but should fit in nicely against India, Kenya and Chinese Taipei. Hasn’t kicked on at Brisbane yet but he’s still young. Or Adam Mitchell could start another one at right back after his debut against Canada was cut short with injury. He’s more of a centre-back but there is that option.
Libby Cacace’s rapid ascent continues. Can’t argue with that and nor can one argue with Gulley or TAWH getting included after being two of the absolute standout kiwi defenders during the NZ Premiership. Both have since gone back to their winter clubs but let’s just list their Premmy clubs instead because it looks prettier.
Brotherton, Mitchell and Doyle all started in Schmid’s first game so… yeah. That feels like a clue. Only two proper fullbacks as well which would make Anthony Hudson wake up in the middle of the night with cold sweats. A couple others can cover those positions though, plus Jack-Henry Sinclair is on the standby list. However Jesse Edge isn’t, having come close last time. Would’ve liked to see someone like Tyler Lissette included too. Or Cory Brown or Kyle Adams. Guessing that those two weren’t considered because of their USL commitments in America, same as James Musa.
MIDFIELDERS
Moses Dyer – Eastern Suburbs, NZ (10/0)
Cameron Howieson – Auckland City, NZ (10/0)
Jai Ingham – Melbourne Victory, AUS (1/0)
Clayton Lewis – Scunthorpe United, ENG (14/0)
Tim Payne – Eastern Suburbs, NZ (15/2)
Matt Ridenton – Newcastle Jets, AUS (3/0)
Alex Rufer – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (5/0)
Sarpreet Singh – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (1/0)
This lot is both predictable and also a little concerning, given that our midfield depth is pretty average even at the best of times. But that’s why players like these need chances to play at this level, so no worries. Matt Ridenton was in the last squad and should’ve played however he’s there now and ready to take all of Mike McGlinchey’s minutes just like he did at the Nix. Of course he’s a Newcastle Jet now… but that’s a whole other drama.
Tim Payne and Cam Howieson are the equivalent selections to Gulley and TAWH. Payne played in defence for Eastern Suburbs but was a decent midfielder for the All Whites in their last game while Howieson is all class and it’d be a shame if he didn’t find a way back into the pro circuit after a lovely season for Auckland City. Book all three in as potential starters, with Ridenton playing a little further forward.
Moses Dyer was old mate Hudson’s teacher’s pet yet he’s actually only played once for the All Whites in the last year. A strong season for Eastern Suburbs probably has him poised for a few more trips on the trial circuit later in the year and he’s easily deserving of getting back amongst this company. Alex Rufer hasn’t done as much, being stuck batting down the order at the Nix, but midfield options are limited here. Sarpreet Singh is one who did get opportunities for the Nix and, like Cacace, he’s been landing on ladders every time he rolls the dice for six months now.
Good to see Jai Ingham picked too. They tried hard to get him to commit to Aotearoa a while back only for it to turn out that they mostly just wanted him to get to his brother. So it’ll be nice to see the lad add to his single cap (at home to Fiji, off the bench, last March). Similarly Clayton Lewis is a guy who really needs the games, having struggled for them at Scunthorpe. The leap into the week in, week out of the professional stuff is tough to manage. He’ll be better for it next season but in the meantime he should see plenty of footy in India.
FORWARDS
Henry Cameron – Limerick FC, IRE (2/0)
Andre De Jong – Hakoah, AUS (1/0)
Noah Billingsley – Santa Barbara University, USA (0/0)
Myer Bevan – Husqvarna FF, SWE (3/1)
Weirdly only one genuine striker there in Myer Bevan, although a very good one who should add a few goals to the tally on this tour. He’d better - he’s one of only two players here to have ever scored at the senior international level before. Lock him in to start and then keep an eye out for how much this other trio plays.
ADJ would work as a second striker or attacking midfielder, picking locks and making things happen. He’s been in hot form over in Aussie, continuing where he left off for Eastern Suburbs. Henry Cameron is the opposite and it wasn’t so long ago he was told by his Irish club that he could look elsewhere if he desired a few more games. He’s still at Limerick but, yeah, his career seems to have stalled with that injury on debut for the All Whites in 2015. Since then he’s been released by Blackpool, is struggling for games at Limerick, didn’t do bugger all for the U20s at the last World Cup and is a shock inclusion in this team. There’s clearly a focus on youth and players who’ll be eligible for the next shot at the Olympics (where the qualifying difficulty x potential revenue is a tasty prospect), so hopefully Cameron can work his way back into relevance starting with this tournament.
Then we have Noah Billingsley, shooting out of nowhere to make this bad boy. Very decent prospect and a guy who scores goals for his Uni team. Plus it ain’t like the All Whites have been afraid to pick guys out of US colleges either, Sam Brotherton most famously in recent times. But a curious selection nonetheless. He does bring a bit of much needed pace to this squad. Clearly Schmiddy had a rewatch of the last U20 World Cup because there are eight players from that squad picked here and another five on the standby list. Ten from the 2015 U20 WC squad too, with one on standby.
Might’ve been nice to see Callum McCowatt included. His time will come eventually. Joel Stevens is another one since his club teammate Myer Bevan is going. Greg Draper’s been shortlisted for player of the season in Wales but age might not be on his side considering the oldest player in this squad is 26 year old Nikko Boxall. At age 28, Drapes is basically ancient by these standards. Shame we don’t get to see how he rates against some of this lot, though.
Meanwhile Monty Patterson’s tumble in fortunes continues as he’s overlooked again, left on the standby list. The Python has had his struggles. He barely played for the Nix despite needing to win a contract for next season with Ipswich not expected to offer him new terms. How he bounces back from all this over the next year will probably define how his career goes.
STANDBY PLAYERS: Cameron Brown, Niko Kirwan, Jack-Henry Sinclair, Owen Parker-Price, Callum McCowatt, Monty Patterson, Jake Porter, James McGarry & Logan Rogerson
And there you go. Whack an ad if you want to support the TNC battlers or make a pledge on Patreon and just sit back as your karmic balance takes a swing towards the divine