Talk about timing. To be playing the Socceroos again after so many years and they happen to be the first games since the All Whites failed to make the World Cup thanks to that brutal and controversial 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica. Meanwhile the Aussies got past Peru on penalties to ensure that they will be there in Qatar in November. It’s going to be a bittersweet thing when the kiwi lads smoke them in this Centenary Series only to have to watch the World Cup on television. Bittersweet indeed.

The All Whites have not played the Socceroos since a 3-0 loss in Adelaide back in 2011. Chris Wood and Michael Boxall are the only members of this squad who played that day (although Kosta Barbarouses and Marco Rojas were also involved). This two game series, one match in Brisbane on Thursday 22 September and the next in Auckland on the Sunday 25 September, is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first time that these two nations met in a men’s football international (a 3-1 win for NZ, chur). Despite that celebration of amity it’s somehow it’s been 11 years since these two teams last met on a footy field.

That 2011 game was kinda boring. A really strong Aussie team won it easily and they’ve successfully dodged us (or vice versa) ever since. Australia’s earlier deflection to the Asian confederation had as much to do with that as anything. But just to get the juices flowing (and the blood boiling) it’s worth taking the time to remember the second most recent Trans-Tasman blokes fixture which occurred in the lead-in to the 2010 World Cup. It was Winston Reid’s debut for the All Whites. A friendly held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in which a couple of the Aussie fellas could well have been arrested for assault. Here were the respective team line-ups...

Reid came on for an injured Leo Bertos who had to be stretchered off after two absolutely horrendous tackles. The second from Tim Cahill was at least accidental as he slipped while sliding in... but he still left his leg way too high with sprigs showing and not only jabbed Bertos with them but levered him over in mid-air. He was booked but that was a borderline red if VAR were in action those days.

As for the first challenge, we’re talking about a Vince Grella two-footed lunge that not only would have been a red card with a video assistant ref but it should have also been a 10-week ban with mandatory psychological counselling. How the ref could see that and only issue a yellow was appalling. Typically the All Whites went on to lose 2-1 despite having led for a significant stretch of time. For an All Whites win against Australia you have to go all the way back to the last time they played each other in Aotearoa: the 2002 Nations Cup in which a 78th minute Ryan Nelsen header did the trick.

Hopefully that all sparks up some fiery hype for these two matches. Because World Cup or no World Cup (unfortunately that’s not a choice), this is a major opportunity for what’s largely still a very young All Whites team to do something special in a national team jersey. They were close against Costa Rica. They way that they performed, the style football they played... heaps to be proud of there. But what we’re talking about here is something iconic that’ll be talked about in years to come when people look back and consider how talented this group of players really was. A crowning achievement. Hopefully one of many... although at this stage it has to be said that as exciting as this group of players may be their best result so far is probably a 2-0 win over The Gambia.

There’s a core to this All Whites team that has the potential to boss things the international level for the next ten years (so... until the next time we play Australia). Maybe, just maybe, this could be the start of that new era. Especially the game at Eden Park which will be the first time that players such as Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic, Liberato Cacace, Matt Garbett, Callum McCowatt, Elijah Just, Nando Pijnaker, Alex Greive, Oli Sail, etc. have had the chance to play for the All Whites in front of a home crowd. It hasn’t happened for anyone since Peru in 2017. An entire World Cup cycle gone without a game on Aotearoa soil.

We’ll get into the All Whites squad details soon but first a quick peek at the Aussies...

Phoenix fans will be piqued to see Cam Devlin there. The wee fella has gone to Scotland and hit a whole new level with Hearts and he’s in line for a debut in these matches. As are Keannu Baccus and Ryan Strain – teammates of Alex Greive at St Mirren. There are six A-League players in a squad of 31. Interesting that Bailey Wright of Sunderland and Riley McGree of Middlesbrough are the only players in this group based in England. Five players with 50+ caps, plus Jackson Irvine will reach that tally if he plays both games.

Apparently Central Coast teenager Garang Kuol is close to agreeing a move to Newcastle United but short of that happening there are only three members of this team currently playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues. The All Whites also have three... can’t imagine too many times when that’s been the case. Australia always used to have a solid core of guys employed at the highest level but long gone are the days of Kewell, Viduka, Schwarzer, Neill, Emerton, Cahill, etc.

As for that All Whites squad, there are 24 players here in the wake of a 26-man squad (trimmed to 23 for the game itself) which amassed for the Costa Rica WCQ. This is how things have shifted between the two groups…

IN: Kyle Adams, Andre De Jong, Cam Howieson, Ben Old, Alex Paulsen, Storm Roux, Michael Woud, Deklan Wynne

OUT: Kosta Barbarouses, Joey Champness, Francis De Vries, Matthew Gould, Niko Kirwan, Clayton Lewis, Stefan Marinovic, Logan Rogerson, Marco Rojas, Tommy Smith

Now let’s get into the specifics.

GOALKEEPERS

• Alex Paulsen – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (0 caps/0 goals)

• Oli Sail – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (4/0)

• Michael Woud – Kyoto Sanga, JAP (4/0)

Where is Stefan Marinovic? That’s a good question. The short notes of injuries/unavailabilities that were in the NZF press release didn’t include mention of him, although they weren’t exactly comprehensive as they also didn’t specify Kosta Barbarouses being suspended for both games due to his red card against Costa Rica. Hilarious that he can serve that ban in friendly games. Tommy Smith wasn’t initially mentioned as injured either although that’s since been amended. Smith has yet to feature for Colchester this season due to a foot complaint suffered in preseason. Also no mention of Sarpreet Singh or Ryan Thomas as long term absentees, s’pose because they weren’t part of the previous squad.

Marinovic definitely isn’t injured. He’s been playing every week for his new club in Israel, Hapoel Tel Aviv. Some beautiful saves in there looking at the highlights even if his team’s overall form has been mostly poor. But Marinovic lost his long-term All Whites starting gig to Oli Sail this year and best guess is that he didn’t wanna fly halfway around the world to sit on the bench... either that or Danny Hay’s simply dropped him in order to get a closer look at a few other GKs.

One of those is Michael Woud who returns to the squad after skipping the last couple to focus on settling into his new Japanese club – where he’s the backup keeper and yet to appear in a J-League game... however an Emperor’s Cup run has at least allowed him a few sporadic moments to shine. He’s doing what he has to do as a young goalkeeper, pretty much. Biding his time. Working hard behind the scenes. Oli Sail could tell him a thing or two about the benefits that all has down the line. Easy to forget that Woud is only 23 years old.

Alex Paulsen is only 20 years old and is already the backup goalie for the Welly Nix, having made four ALM appearances last season. This after his golden highlight reel of shot stopping and assured distribution at National League level had established Paulsen as one of the best goalkeeping prospects that Aotearoa has produced in years. This is his first senior call-up. Doubt he’ll play but it’s another milestone in his career and a chance to soak up as much knowledge as possible.

Matthew Gould was the third stringer for the Costa Rica game (behind Sail and Marinovic). Hay basically said that he was there more due to his enthusiastic presence on the training paddock given that he wasn’t likely to play. Someone who’ll happily stay back for half an hour after practice so that Chris Wood can take some extra shots or work on penalties or whatever. Helps that Gould’s a goalkeeping coach’s son. He probably wouldn’t have been picked in a friendly context for that reason although even if he was he couldn’t be because he took a nasty knock to the face playing for Altrincham a couple weeks back.

Nik Tzanev and Max Crocombe are going well in League Two. Tzanev may have burnt some bridges by not being available when the All Whites were building up momentum coming out of the pandemic mist. Also neither was going to be more than a third choice for this squad so probs best to let them keep doing their club things. Jamie Searle is another who’s been called up recently, debuting against New Caledonia at the Nations Cup. Zac Jones is one to watch out for as he establishes himself in the Welsh top flight. Lots of goalie depth. No doubt whatsoever that Oli Sail is the number one right now.

DEFENDERS

• Kyle Adams – San Diego Loyal, USA (0/0)

• Michael Boxall – Minnesota United, USA (38/0)

• Liberato Cacace, Empoli, ITA (10/1)

• Dane Ingham – Newcastle Jets, AUS (10/0)

• Tim Payne – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (28/2)

• Nando Pijnaker – Sligo Rovers, IRE (9/0)

• Winston Reid – Unattached (32/1)

• Storm Roux - Central Coast Mariners, AUS (10/0)

• Bill Tuiloma – Portland Timbers, USA (34/4)

• Deklan Wynne – Detroit City, USA (15/0)

Alrighty, into the outfielders and you’ll be glad to know that despite all those changes to the overall squad... every starter from the Costa Rica game is here with the exceptions of Niko Kirwan and Clayton Lewis who are both injured. Kirwan is going to miss quite a bit of time with an ACL tear, same injury that Francis De Vries suffered about a month earlier. Two full backs out long term. Lewis’ is less serious but it will cost him this Socceroos series.

Winston Reid is here. Quite concerning that he still hasn’t found a club team after two transfer windows - it’s been more than a full calendar year since West Ham released him. At least he’s had All Whites footy to keep him active. Sadly, Reid seems to get injured every other time he plays and having made good money out of his Premier League days and having missed out on the chance to play in another World Cup later in the year you never know if perhaps this could be the last time we get to see Winnie live in action. Don’t waste that chance, mate. I’ll see you at Eden Park.

Tommy Smith is out injured but Bill Tuiloma, Nando Pijnaker, and Michael Boxall are all picked alongside Reid to ensure plenty of central defensive options. Best part about that trio is that they’re all playing regularly (and playing well) for their club teams at the moment which is not something you can say about too many others in this squad. Wood’s a backup at Newcastle. Cacace only just got his first game of the season this past week. Garbett’s still awaiting a debut for Torino. Bell and Greive have been unused subs their last couple matches. All the A-League dudes are only in their preseasons. Something to be aware of if the passes aren’t sticking in game one vs Oz.

Also offering some CB coverage: Kyle Adams. His first senior international selection. Adams is a tall, technical defender who plays in the second tier in the USA but has come close to MLS level a couple times. Timing wasn’t quite right for him on those occasions but he’s always been excellent in the USL. Curious that he’s been picked ahead of club teammate Nikko Boxall who’s been involved in recent All Whites squads. With his long blonde curly hair, Kyle Adams is tough to miss. The USL is not a league that Danny Hay’s shown too much respect with past selections (to be honest: fair enough, it’s not a fantastic standard) but here’s a chance for Kyle Adams to ingratiate himself.

And he’s not the only one... because Deklan Wynne’s back in the All Whites. A regular under Anthony Hudson yet he hasn’t been capped since the November 2017 intercontinentals against Peru. Injuries and stingy coaches meant he went about two years without playing a proper game over in the States but 2022 has proved to be his comeback trail. USL reticence aside, Wynne has been really good for Detroit City, probably the best performing of any of the current NZers in the USL.

Wynne can have FDV’s backup left defensive role for this tour. Dane Ingham and Storm Roux are also involved to pick up the slack of no Niko Kirwan – although Tim Payne will surely be the starting right back. Not sure why we need so many wide defenders but okay. Hay always seems to want to be overstocked on defensive players.

One unlucky absentee: Sam Sutton. His problem is that he’s a left back not a right back but let’s be honest he’s outperformed both Ingham and Roux across the last two A-League campaigns. His time will come soon enough.

MIDFIELDERS

• Joe Bell – Brøndby, DEN (10/1)

• Matt Garbett – Torino, ITA (10/1)

• Cam Howieson, Auckland City, NZ (15/0)

• Marko Stamenic – FC København, DEN (9/0)

Not too many midfielders in stock, meanwhile. Injury to Clayton Lewis means that Cam Howieson has been picked from out of the National League – the only non professional in the squad. Howieson’s been in great touch for a dominant Auckland City team that’s won all three trophies they’ve competed for so far with the National League itself on the line in a few weeks as they try to make it a quadruple. If you’re gonna select someone from that tier than he’s as good a shout as any.

Having said that, it’d be stunning if Marko Stamenic isn’t the one who takes Lewis’ starting spot. He might have taken it even if Lewis had been available. What Stam’s been up to since the WCQs is nothing short of amazing. He’s now the only one in the team who can talk to coach Danny Hay about what it’s like to play in a Champions League game. Broke a 15-year drought on Thursday morning when he got the nod for Copenhagen in their UCL game against Sevilla... playing all ninety minutes in a 0-0 draw. Only five NZers have ever played in the men’s UCL and the last one to play ninety minutes in a game was Wynton Rufer back in 1994. Stamenic spent last season on loan at second tier HB Køge. Now he’s getting Champions League minutes for the Danish champions. Immense mahi.

Matt Garbett has also broken into the first team for his club but he’s yet to actually debut for Torino. Another one who is biding his time, waiting for that chance. Making the most of the extended Serie A benches too. Training full time with a team of that calibre should be keeping Garbs sharp regardless. And while Joe Bell’s been on the outer for the last couple BIF games it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s back in. Bell’s not been the issue. It’s just that Brøndby as a team have been so inconsistent that it’s led to a lot of tinkering in search of answers.

Who else could have been selected in this midfield? Well, Ryan Thomas is patiently trying to get back to some sort of fitness again in the Netherlands. Doubt we hear anything from him until 2023 but he is determined to get back on the pitch after a horror string of injuries during his PSV days. Sarpreet Singh is getting closer to a return for SSV Jahn Regensburg but he’s not ready yet either. It’s fair to say there aren’t a heap of professional midfielders to choose from. Eli Just, Tim Payne, and Bill Tuiloma are perfectly adequate emergency cover. Ollie Whtye is probably the top overseas based fella outside this crew.

FORWARDS

• Andre De Jong - Royal AM, RSA (9/2)

• Alex Greive – St Mirren, SCO (6/2)

• Elijah Just - AC Horsens, DEN (11/1)

• Callum McCowatt – FC Helsingør, DEN (9/1)

• Ben Old – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (1/0)

• Ben Waine – Wellington Phoenix, NZ/AUS (5/1)

• Chris Wood – Newcastle United, ENG (68/33)

Two more caps for Chris Wood and he’ll be clear second on the all-time Aotearoa men’s list. He’ll surpass Simon Elliott’s 69 caps with only Ivan Vicelich’s 88 left to beat. That’ll take a while longer but he’s going to get there eventually. Already the leading men’s international goal scorer for this country and he’s only going to continue to stretch that lead. While the Woodsman may only be a back-up option for Newcastle, he’s still appeared in every game this season so in a funny way that means he’ll be both fresh and match fit. Nothing to worry about there.

Alex Greive started alongside Wood in the Costa Rica game. His hefty work-rate has been a hit in Scotland and it’s been a hit for the All Whites too. Eli Just has made the jump to the top flight in Denmark since the last internationals. Callum McCowatt was left behind when Just transferred to Horsens, but he’s been setting up goals for Helsingør so he’s all good. Andre De Jong has also moved club and his early season form in South Africa has gotten him back in the squad after being dropped for the intercontinentals. Also Ben Waine was an expected inclusion but Ben Old’s impressive Aussie Cup form for the Welly Nix must have caught Danny Hay’s eye for him to be summoned up.

Especially since there are a few notable omissions. Marco Rojas made himself unavailable as he understandably focusses on getting his bearings not only with new club Colo-Colo but also with living in Chile in general. Rojas and McCowatt missed the Costa Rica game with illness, remember. Kosta Barbarouses also has that suspension otherwise he’d be the second most capped player in the squad with his 52 matches.

Joey Champness hasn’t been selected as he searches for a new club, not sure what’s going on with him but if you’re not playing at all then you probably shouldn’t get picked for your national team... unless you’ve got the incomparable mana of Winston Reid. Also Logan Rogerson is in the form of his life for FC Haka in Finland but there’s no room for him in this group. It doesn’t help him (or Champness) that the All Whites haven’t really been playing with traditional wingers recently. Rogerson can do a great job through the middle as well but that does mean he’s in competition with all the strikers as well.

All these debatable points have to do with players on the edges of the squad though. The starting eleven is as strong as it could have been, with Tim Payne and Marko Stamenic more than suitable replacements for Niko Kirwan and Clayton Lewis. Might even argue they’re both improvements.

Consider a team of: Oli Sail, Tim Payne, Bill Tuiloma, Winston Reid (or Michael Boxall), Nando Pijnaker, Libby Cacace, Joe Bell, Marko Stamenic, Matt Garbett, Alex Greive, and Chris Wood.

Could that team beat Australia? Yes, yes they could. Let’s hope they do. Kia kaha.

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