All Whites vs Congo DR/Australia: Squad Yarns & Preview
For Darren Bazeley’s first tour as the permanent All Whites head coach he’s picked a 22-man squad without a single A-League player. Those fellas are busy in their preseasons, still building up their match-fitness again after a long offseason, and the timing of this tour means they’d be at risk of missing the first game of their seasons after the long flight back from England. That means no Wellington Phoenix players. It means no Oli Sail or Clayton Lewis or Storm Roux or Dane Ingham. And you know what? You wouldn’t even notice.
There’s a yarn on the latest Football Ferns tour up live on the website which gets into that team’s issue of depth, particularly in the attacking areas. There just aren’t enough female kiwi forwards playing professionally to where they can drive the competition for places that we need. There will be soon... but there isn’t quite yet.
The All Whites have been in that territory in the past. The All Whites are no longer in that territory. The All Whites don’t even need their A-League players whereas the Footy Ferns would not have a squad without theirs. At least not yet. The ALW is a fantastic stepping stone league and since the World Cup we’ve seen European transfers for Katie Bowen, Indi Riley, Claudia Bunge, Malia Steinmetz, and Paige Satchell... all of whom played A-League last season. Chuck in Betsy Hassett if you want too, although she’d already returned to Iceland when the World Cup happened.
It works for the Tane same as the Wahine. Guys like Ben Waine, Libby Cacace, James McGarry, Sarpreet Singh, Joe Champness... they all earned transfer fees for A-League clubs. A few others in this squad passed through those dusty, seagull-infested fields too. Fair play to the A-League. We love the A-League. But these days if you want to make the All Whites as an ALM player then you’d better be playing the damn house down. There are simply too many good kiwi pros out there these days for anything less (Bazeley reckons he’s got around 55 pros on his “big board”). Competition for places is a beautiful thing.
That’s not the main headline from this squad announcement though. That would instead be the inclusion of a pair of multi-national prospects: Tyler Bindon and Matt Dibley-Dias. Both of whom have been tracked through the Flying Kiwis write-ups in hope of this happy outcome.
Bindon is an 18 year old centre-back with excellent distribution and a calm head on his shoulders. He’s already played U19s for the USA but was born and mostly raised in Aotearoa, and recently moved to London where he quickly won a trial with Reading and is already embedded as a regular first teamer. Tyler is the son of Jenny Bindon, an American goalkeeper who married kiwi Grant Bindon (NZ volleyball rep, they went to university in the States together) and moved to NZ where she became a naturalised citizen, a regular in the local domestic leagues, and went on to earn 77 caps for the Football Ferns.
In other words, Tyler Bindon has some legitimate kiwi bonafides. Those jokers at Reading have been using American flag emojis whenever they mention him on the socials but interviews have revealed a strong NZ accent and ultimately the lure of the motherland was just too strong. Luckily, the Americans are taking it pretty well. They already stole one of our Tylers, now they’ve given another one back. The world keeps turning and nature is healing.
Bindon is a huge get for the All Whites. Having a classy central defender of his age is massive considering that many of NZ’s best in that position are on the older side. Winston Reid retired last year. Michael Boxall and Tommy Smith are in their mid-30s. Always gotta keep refreshing these things. Finn Surman was involved in the previous squad too, while Nando Pijnaker’s still only 24 years old, so there’s some decent future-proofing going down in that defensive line.
As for Matt Dibley-Dias, mate, you can never have too many silky midfielders in your team. Dibs was born in Wellington to a Kiwi mother and Brazilian father. The family then relocated to England a few years back. He’s eligible for Aotearoa, England, Brazil, and Portugal. Dibs hasn’t outwardly stated his decision like Bindon did and he doesn’t have to because he’s still at an age where he can switch back and forth. But they’ve got him in the door, that’s the first step.
MDD is very highly rated within the Fulham system. One reason why he has declined previous call-ups, including the U20 World Cup earlier in the year, is because of first team opportunities. International windows often mean that many of the club’s top players are absent from training and therefore some of the better youngsters get to fill the gap. And the U20 World Cup campaign overlapped with the end of the previous Premier League season when Dibley-Dias twice made it into matchday squads for the Cottagers. He then repeated that feat in matchweek one of the current season after featuring off the bench in every game of their preseason tour of the USA. Marco Silva loves him. Since then MDD has signed a new contract with the club and settled into captaining their U21s team where he does things like this...
Dibley-Dias is probably going to make a Premier League debut at some stage this season. He and Bindon also immediately move into key player status for the Olympics next year. Huge credit to Baze and the team because these two are massive recruitment victories for the All Whites, getting in (at least for now) a pair of excellent young players from great professional environments who aren’t just mercenaries but who have strong and genuine kiwi ties.
There are a few absentees beyond those ALM hombres. Joe Bell is skipping this tour as he settles back into life at Viking FK – who are challenging for a Norwegian title. He’s been short on minutes for the last twelve months anyway. Also Marco Rojas is in between club so he’s sitting this one out as well. Ryan Thomas has been injured and ill for PEC Zwolle and might not have been available regardless. Additionally there are a few lads in the squad under injury clouds, in particular James McGarry who pulled up with a sore hamstring for Aberdeen last week. He’s highly likely to be ruled out once the All Whites physios get to him. Tommy Smith, Bill Tuiloma, and Matt Garbett have also missed time with knocks lately though they seem to have recovered. And there is also a bit of friskiness with Max Crocombe and Max Mata whose League One teams have games during the window. Don’t be shocked if one or either miss the Congo game (there is also the possibility those club fixtures get postponed if they have other international call-ups).
On the flipside this selection marks the return from injury of Chris Wood, Sarpreet Singh, and Niko Kirwan. Wood last played for the All Whites against Australia in September 2022 when he limped off after twenty minutes. Kirwan last played for the All Whites in the Costa Rica WCQ game in June 2022. Singh last played for the All Whites in a 3-1 loss to Jordan in January 2022. We are blessed and grateful for all three of them. Kirwan may not be in the same calibre as the other two but he might have to try to be as he’s the only specialist right back in the squad - although Bill Tuiloma did start at RB vs Qatar.
Hey speaking of Qatar, three months later we can safely assume that FIFA are still doing their due diligence with that investigation into the racial abuse incident... right? Presumably that’s why we haven’t heard a single word about it since. Not because FIFA don’t actually take that stuff seriously. Or because FIFA and Qatar have a lot of money tied up together in a cosy relationship that neither wants to jeopardise. Nah it’s gotta be the first option aye.
Righto, now to shift the focus to the actual games. First up will be the Democratic Republic of Congo, played on neutral territory in the Spanish region of Murcia... which seems to be a common site for such games. The All Whites played there against Canada in 2018 while the Football Ferns played a pair of games against Scotland in Murcia in 2018 and a pre-2019 World Cup warm-up against Norway a year later. One more NZ Football fixture in Murcia their next one’s free.
Congo DR qualified for their only World Cup back in 1974... and lost all three games scoring none and conceding 14. They did come third at AFCON in 2015 but failed to qualify for the 2021 edition (but they will be back for the one happening in early 2024). Their most recent game was a 1-0 loss to South Africa and while other results have been much better those have mostly been wins against smaller African nations. The last time they played outside their confederation was against Bahrain in February 2022 (they lost 1-0) and before that... unless the internet is lying then it appears to have been a 1-1 draw with Romania in 2016.
Yannick Bolasie has been the main man for these guys, though he hasn’t played for the national team since March 2022 so his days may be over. Elsewhere Chancel Mbemba at Marseille is a very good defender. Cédric Bakambu at Galatasaray will supply some creativity. Yoane Wissa of Brentford is a fella some may recognise. There’s also Arthur Masuaku who was teammates with Winston Reid at West Ham for a while there. And whether they pick him or not, another funky fella is Christian Kinsombi because he’s one of Sarpreet Singh’s teammates/positional rivals at Hansa Rostock. That game takes place at 5am on 14 October NZT... live on FIFA+ for the homies.
Then a few days later it’s those pesky Aussies again. All Whites vs Socceroos. Brentford Community Stadium in London. Apparently they’re putting that soccer ashes thing on the line for it too... which is cool but they really need to come up with a better name for it. The AWs hadn’t played Australia for 11 years before last year’s two-game series so this is a bloody quick turnaround. The AWs also haven’t beaten Australia since 2002 so yeah the Congo game is the one if you’re in it for the dubs... although the Aussies play England at Wembley four days earlier so we might catch a rotated Graham Arnold line-up for the second game of the window. Either way, it’ll be a useful opportunity to compare that performance to how the kiwis went last September. Watch it at 7.45am on 18 October. Now for the squad deets.
GOALKEEPERS
Max Crocombe – Burton Albion, ENG (2 caps/0 goals)
Nik Tzanev – AFC Wimbledon, ENG (1/0)
Michael Woud – Ventforet Kofu, JAP (4/0)
These are curious times for the goalkeepers of Aotearoa. There may never have been a time in our history when the race for the starter’s gig has been so wide open with so many candidates. Stefan Marinovic held it down for a while there but he hasn’t had a club all year so we can safely assume he’s stepped off the merry-go-round. Oli Sail then took over but didn’t quite nail it down. The move to Perth may reinvigorate him but he’s missed his chance to write his name in permanent ink.
Max Crocombe started the most recent game and seems to be the current frontrunner. If he’s not then he should be. He was brilliant for Grimsby Town over the last two seasons, playing his best stuff during the promotion playoffs and their FA Cup quarter-final run – big game players go well in international footy. He then moved to Burton Albion and had to deal with being a backup to begin with... but he soon changed that situation with emphasis. Crocs is in form, he’s playing regularly, and he’s the most experienced option.
Nik Tzanev returns for the second consecutive tour but after going nearly two years without missing a single league game for AFC Wimbledon he’s now found himself with backup status again. A few cup games have kept him fresh and he’s looked excellent in those rare appearances... including helping them earn an EFL Cup tie with Chelsea. But then they picked the other goalie for the Chelsea game like a bunch of jerks.
As for Michael Woud, he went a full year without barely featuring for Kyoto Sanga and at one point seemed to have dropped down to fourth-choice goalie territory. Then came a loan to a second tier club in Japan... a second tier club that also won the national cup last year thus last week he found himself playing against Melbourne City in the Asian Champions League (and kept a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw). That’s been enough to earn a recall.
Outside of those fellas, Jamie Searle is steadily making progress as Forest Green Rovers’ second keeper. Zac Jones was remarkable for Haverfordwest County in the Europa Conference League qualifiers a few months back (albeit his club stuff is at a lower level than other contenders). Kees Sims is the number one for Ljungskile and will definitely be catching some scouting buzz. Henry Gray is now on the books at Ipswich Town – who, by the way, could well be a Premier League club next season. Chuck in Alex Paulsen at the Nix. A raft of younger lads coming through the domestic scene. Ain’t no shortage of good glovemen going around.
A-League Alternatives: Oli Sail, Alex Paulsen
Would Any Of Them Have Made The Squad Anyway? Yeah, probably Sail
DEFENDERS
Tyler Bindon – Reading, ENG (0/0)
Michael Boxall – Minnesota United, USA (43/0)
Liberato Cacace – Empoli, ITA (15/1)
Niko Kirwan – Calcio Padova, ITA (8/0)
James McGarry – Aberdeen, SCO (1/0)
Nando Pijnaker – Sligo Rovers, IRE (14/0)
Tommy Smith - Milton Keynes Dons, ENG (50/2)
Bill Tuiloma – Charlotte FC, USA (37/4)
Okay, into the chunky stuff now and Darren Bazeley has tended to alternate between a back three and a back four with both the All Whites and the various age grade teams he’s taken charge of (U20s and U23s). But with the All Whites he’s shown a willingness to adapt to the wishes of the players so after going 5-2-2-1 in a draw against China in March, followed by a 2-1 win playing 4-3-3... it was a 4-3-3 both times on his second tour as interim against Sweden and Qatar.
There are eight defenders here which suggests a nice and simple first choice, second choice system. The Tuiloma/Boxall/Pijnaker/Cacace quartet was going swell against Qatar until the racism began so there’s your benchmark with Kirwan/Bindon/Smith/McGarry as the backups. Sweet as. Doesn’t necessarily mean that’ll be how it goes in these matches but it does give us a tidy way of looking at this squad.
Now, there is the old usual worry about match fitness and form going on here. Bindon’s form has been superb but he’s young and did miss some time with injury recently. Boxall you don’t have to worry about. He’s class through and through, plus a complete iron man. Cacace started the season as Empoli’s top choice left-back but got dropped amidst the team’s horrendous struggles (they sacked their manager after only four games, that’s how bad it was). But they guy who took his spot, Giuseppe Pezzella, got injured last game which hopefully gives Libby another extended run. It’s expected that Pezzella will miss the next two months.
Niko Kirwan’s only recently back from a long-term knee injury. James McGarry pulled a hammy last week and his club manager has claimed he’ll miss “four to six weeks” so expect him to be replaced pretty soon... Dalton Wilkins seems like an easy like-for-like. Nando Pijnaker has recently been dropped by Sligo Rovers, also within a team-wide form slump. They had been relying heavily on Max Mata’s goals so when he left things got wobbly. But it’s not only that: their captain is a centre-back and he got fit again and on top of that... Pijnaker was rumoured away in the last window and his contract expires at the end of the year. The other CB is a local young fella who will be there next season whereas Nando probably won’t. His benching wasn’t necessarily down to his performances.
Tommy Smith’s been pleasantly good for MK Dons since signing, becoming a first choice option after they moved to a back three formation. He did miss their most recent game but not sure if that was injury related or not. And Bill Tuiloma only just returned to the Charlotte bench (as an unused sub) this week after missing a month out hurt.
That’s something to be aware of in case there’s rustiness on display. But another way of looking at it is these guys all need the minutes. They’ll also have an in-form Marko Stamenic to shield them with an in-form Max Crocombe to make the necessary saves. By far the most interesting aspect here will be who starts at right back... because Tuiloma was beginning to get a few reps there for his club team prior to getting injured and there’s definitely some international potential there... as we saw in half a game against Qatar.
A-League Alternatives: Tim Payne, Dane Ingham, Storm Roux, Finn Surman, Sam Sutton
Would Any Of Them Have Made The Squad Anyway? Tim Payne as defensive utility cover, possibly competing for that right back spot. That’s probably it... although Surman seems primed to give his stock as boost as a starting eleven Phoenix centre-back
MIDFIELDERS
Matthew Dibley-Dias – Fulham, ENG (0/0)
Matthew Garbett – NAC Breda, NED (15/2)
Callum McCowatt – Silkeborg, DEN (12/2)
Sarpreet Singh – Hansa Rostock, GER (9/1)
Marko Stamenic – Crvena zvezda, SER (14/0)
The absence of Joe Bell would ordinarily leave a massive hole in the midfield except that Marko Stamenic is equally as good and is playing at a higher club level and... yeah if folks don’t realise how good Stamenic is then they’re soon going to learn. Ideally it’s that Bell/Stam combination operating as dual eights like they have in the last couple of games, with a ten in front of them, but this will just have to be an opportunity for Stamenic to make a statement on his own. The Kiwi Rodri showcase tour.
However there isn’t an obvious candidate to play alongside him, which could cause a change in shape. You wouldn’t trust any of the others to do what Joe Bell does... except maybe Dibley-Dias who tends to operate as a ball-playing deep midfielder for Fulham’s U21s. Big ask in his first tour though. In that case it’ll probably have to be Stamenic as a six with a couple of eights ahead: picking two out of McCowatt/Singh/Garbett. All three can do that role smoothly. Each can also play in the front three (assuming that’s the shape)... which is handy because there’s only one natural winger in this squad.
Singh has not played much for Hansa Rostock. He was getting some minutes to begin with but then the unused sub days became way too common – the 26 mins he got off the bench in their most recent match were the first he’d made for a month. That’s all part of settling in at a new club, especially after a long-term injury, so we’ll see how much of a workload the Baze is willing to give him. On the one hand you have to be careful not to demand too much. On the other hand whenever Singh has played he’s looked like the All Whites’ most potent creator – and his combination with Chris Wood is already golden.
A-League Alternatives: Clayton Lewis, Alex Rufer
Would Any Of Them Have Made The Squad Anyway? Don’t bet on it... Lewis would be a nice addition but not at the expense of these five (taking into account the diplomatic reasons why MDD needs to be there)
FORWARDS
Joe Champness – Adanaspor, TUR (6/0)
Alex Greive – St Mirren, SCO (10/2)
Elijah Just – AC Horsens, DEN (16/1)
Max Mata – Shrewsbury Town, ENG (4/0)
Ben Waine – Plymouth Argyle, ENG (8/1)
Chris Wood – Nottingham Forest, ENG (70/33)
Bazeley mentioned during his presser that he deliberately picked a lot of attackers and was happy with that balance. He also mentioned that he has a plan to get as many of them out on the pitch as possible. That attacking depth includes most of the midfielders too so the brother has some options, that’s for sure.
Chris Wood is back to add to his record goal scoring tally. The All Whites are a different team with him in the side... granted they did still manage to score without him in three games in a row against China, Sweden, and Qatar. Woodsy’s the focal point. His hold-up play is his greatest asset, even moreso than his finishing, and he knows how to involve the folks around him. While he hasn’t been starting much for Nottm Forest, he’s still been getting gigs off the bench pretty much every week so he’s fit and active and ready to go.
One issue about that balance idea is that Max Mata and Ben Waine, and probably Alex Greive too, are all at their best playing through the middle. So unless this is a hint that Woodsy might be getting a strike-partner then some of those fellas will have to slide out wide where they might not be quite as effective. That’s probably why Joe Champness has been included. Now playing regular club footy after taking a break following his million-dollar payout from his previous gig in Turkey, he’s dropped down a division for Adanaspor but he has a profile that others don’t. That’s why he’s here. He’s a wide forward who can go 1v1. He’s got stepovers. You could argue that he’s jumping the queue ahead of fellas like Logan Rogerson or Andre De Jong, but variety is crucial on an international bench and it’s that point of difference that’s done it.
Every single one of these forwards (including McCowatt) have scored club goals recently. Mata hasn’t hit the net for Shrewsbury Town yet but he was banging them away for Sligo Rovers previously. Greive and Waine are mostly doing the sub thing like Wood, although Waine did start his first league game of the season recently and has had a few cup opportunities. Eli Just has been way more effective since Horsens got relegated (it’s not only the drop in standard, it’s also a more regular role in the team). Champness scored on debut for Adanaspor and seems to have worked into the starting eleven since then. The forwards are all in good nick. They’re all healthy. In fact for once this actually looks like the most stable section of the squad... what strange world is this that we now inhabit?
A-League Alternatives: Kosta Barbarouses, (Marco Rojas), Ben Old
Would Any Of Them Have Made The Squad Anyway? Only if you count Marco Rojas, but he’s unavailable at the moment. Kosta’s gonna need a resurgent season to get back ahead of these other fellas, all of whom have been scoring goals lately
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