Previewing Aotearoa at the 2025 FIFA Men’s U20 World Cup
New Zealand has become a fixture at FIFA tournaments over the past couple decades - and now that Oceania has been granted an automatic spot in the Men’s World Cup (and multiple spots for the youth events) we can reasonably expect to be at all of them. The Football Ferns won their first ever World Cup game in 2023, beating Norway 1-0 at Eden Park. The All Whites will be seeking to tick off that same milestone next year. Our Women’s U17s once finished third at their World Cup and we’ve qualified for knockout games in all four of the age grades, plus men’s and women’s Olympics, over the years.
But the team that stands above all others is the Men’s U20s. That’s our most successful one. When the latest iteration kicks off in Chile on 28 September NZT, it’ll be the seventh consecutive U20 World Cup that the NZ blokes have competed at – the longest active streak of any team in the world (USA is at six in a row). And they’re not just competing, they’re also getting results: this team has gotten out of its group in each of the last four tournaments. They haven’t actually won any of those knockout games... but hey maybe fifth time lucky.
NZ Men’s U20 World Cup Knockout Fixtures
Lost 2-1 to Portugal in 2015
Lost 6-0 to USA in 2017
Lost 1-1 (5-4 pens) to Colombia in 2019
Lost 4-0 to USA in 2023
THE TOURNAMENT
Because we qualify all the time and have a half-decent past record, the NZ U20s were placed in the second seeded pot when the draw was done a few months ago. Only a fraction away from being a top seed... not that it mattered because we were drawn in the same group as hosts Chile instead of the other one-seed options: Italy, USA, South Korea, Brazil, and Colombia. Then by virtue of being the second seed reps in Group A, we also dodged France, Ukraine, Argentina, Nigeria, and Mexico. Sweet as.
The respite only went so far because Japan and Egypt are the third and fourth seeded teams that were dished up in Group A. Previous wins at this event for Aotearoa have come against Myanmar (5-1 in 2015), Honduras (3-1 in 2017), Honduras (5-0 in 2019), Norway (2-0 in 2019), and Guatemala (1-0 in 2023). None of the nations we’ll face at this event feel as beatable as any of those... although you never know with these youth events. You can’t judge an U20s team by the strength of their senior squad.
Working in our favour is that the kiwi team has already had a preview of what’s in store thanks to a two-game preparation tour of Chile back in July. That series was already arranged before the draw was done so initially it must have been all about getting a feel for conditions in the host nation and whatnot. Then we got pitted against the Chileans in pool play and suddenly that tour became even more valuable. Albeit we lost both games, beaten 3-1 in a closed door friendly and then 2-1 in the televised second fixture. There’s a written recap of that tour over here if you’re that way inclined.
The NZ U20s are going to need to raise their level if they want to match their predecessors because even as hosts there’s reason to expect Chile to be the weakest of the three opponents. But keep in mind that those games were only preparation games. There was plenty of squad rotation with only five players starting both matches and plenty of subs being used along the way, allowing the coaching staff to experiment with combinations. They entire touring party will be better off for having had those games – a luxury that age grade squads don’t often get.
Plus that was three months ago. Lots of footy has happened since then and for many of these lads that has included first team preseason at their various clubs. Of the 13 players in the final squad who are affiliated with either Wellington Phoenix or Auckland FC, nine of them got minutes during those respective Australia Cup runs. The ones who aren’t with the Nix or AFC are mostly at professional setups overseas. They’ve all kept busy. They’ll all be in great condition for the U20s.
NZ Fixtures at 2025 U20 World Cup
vs Chile at 12pm on Sunday 28 September
vs Egypt at 9am on Wednesday 1 October
vs Japan at 12pm on Saturday 4 October
THE SQUAD
As expected, this is a very consistent squad to the one they took to Chile a few months ago, with coach Chris Greenacre picking 18 of the 21 players from that tour. The three players who’ve come in are Josey Casa-Grande, Nathan Walker, and Ryan Watson. Walker was injured at the time. He’s a first team player with the Wellington Phoenix so there was always a spot open for him... unfortunately, Alby Kelly-Heald misses out as his timeline recovering from shoulder surgery didn’t quite align with this event and therefore he won’t get to participate alongside his twin brother Lukas. That’s an inverse of the qualifying campaign where Alby played while Lukas was injured. They did both go to the last U20 World Cup, albeit Alby was the third-choice keeper so they never shared the pitch. With Henry Gray and Joe Wallis both rapidly advancing at their English clubs that might have been the case for AKH again this time even if his shoulder had healed faster.
That’s why Josey Casa-Grande (aka Big House) has been selected. He’s a brand new addition to NZ Football who was previously around the Wales U17 set-up. He’s on the books with Bristol City and recently tagged along with the League One squad for preseason camp in Portugal. Casa-Grande has already had short senior loan spells in English non-league footy with Bath City, Chippenham Town, and Dorchester Town. As to his NZF connections... it seems like quite a convenient coincidence that Casa-Grande has pledged to New Zealand two months after trialling with Yeovil Town, appearing in a preseason game for them where he would have worked very closely with Yeovil’s reserve goalkeeper/goalkeeping coach… Matthew Gould. Having said that, Yeovil Town didn’t end up signing him so perhaps it was a coincidence after all.
Ryan Watson is the other inclusion. He’s a crafty attacking midfielder who has been putting up numbers for the Wellington Phoenix Reserves for a couple of years. He scored three goals in Oceania qualifying where he appeared in every game... making him a harsh omission from that Chile tour. He wasn’t injured because he played (and scored) for the WeeNix in a game that took place in between the two friendlies against Chile. Whatever the deal was, he’s back now.
Then for the three who’ve dropped out we have: Luka Coveny, Harry Casci, and James Mitchell. Coveny is the shocker because he captained the team during the qualifying campaign last year and won Player of the Tournament. A very tidy and athletic central defender. He did do some Aussie U17 stuff before committing to Aotearoa so the fear would be a reverse of that... though more likely it’s either an injury-related absence or else it’s related to his club, Western United, getting given the big boot by the A-League and therefore leaving his career in limbo. Coveny played regularly for Western’s NPL Vic 1 team (their equivalent of Phoenix or AFC Reserves) up until the Chile trip but doesn’t appear to have been involved again since. That was four months ago. Sounds like an injury although nobody’s telling.
Harry Casci did continue playing for Western Utd up until they were canned from the NPL when the club was placed into hibernation. He scored two goals in 20 games for them but has had to make way for Nathan Walker, so it goes. James Mitchell is an Auckland FC Reserves dude whose call-up for the Chile games was his first ever for an NZ age grade team... and remains his only one, having missed the cut here.
AFC still managed to get four players into the squad: Coulibaly, McKenlay, Phoenix, and Middleton. Coulibaly and McKenlay both made A-League debuts last season while Middleton recently appeared for the first team during Aussie Cup. Phoenix is still waiting but he does captain the reserves there.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Phoenix have nine reps with all except Watson having played for the first team (Xuan Loke hasn’t made his A-League debut yet, only Aussie Cup, but that’s merely a matter of time based on what we saw from him in those cup games). Remember that the coach of the U20s, Chris Greenacre, is also the coach of the Phoenix Reserves (the same is now true of the Women’s U20s with Callum Holmes)… although Auckland United’s Jose Figueira is there as assistant to offer some balance just in case.
The biggest inclusion of the Nix contingent: Luke Brooke-Smith, who thus ticks off target one as he attempts to play all three World Cups (U17, U20, Senior) within the space of a year. LBS made his All Whites debut last week making him and Lukas Kelly-Heald the two senior capped players here. Brooke-Smith is still eligible for the next U20 World Cup in 2027... as are Ukich, Sloane-Rodrigues, Smith, and Dupont.
Already mentioned Casa-Grande but the other two goalies are based in England too. Henry Gray was a Nix Academy lad who also played Central League for Waterside Karori. When he turned 18, he signed with Ipswich Town and has progressed nicely ever since. Couple of very good loans – including winning Young Player of the Year at Braintree Town last season (where Tommy Smith is now employed) despite only being there for half the campaign. Right now he’s doing his thing with the Ipswich U21s but we’ll probably see another loan out in January. Joe Wallis is also playing U21s footy at the moment. He’s with West Bromwich Albion, whom he signed with from Auckland City (and where he’s a teammate of Noah Dupont – born in England but with a kiwi mother), and recently sat on the bench for a first team game. That suggests he’s currently seen as the third-choice keeper at the club but who knows.
Based on what we saw in Chile, this seems like a fair expectation for how things will shake out in terms of a positional depth chart for this squad...
GK – Henry Gray | Joe Wallis | Josey Casa-Grande
RB – Xuan Loke | Adama Coulibaly
CB – James Bulkeley
CB – Jayden Smith | Noah Dupont
LB – Lukas Kelly-Heald | Codey Phoenix
CM – Fergus Gillion | Oliver Middleton
CM – Finn McKenlay
RW – Luke Brooke-Smith | Nathan Walker
AM – Troy Putt | Ryan Watson
LW – Stipe Ukich | Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues
FW – Keegan Kelly | Luke Supyk
Naturally the RW/AM/LW positions are all interchangeable. Could be that LBS or GSR play through the middle instead. Putt did that job in Chile but has been used mostly as a right wing-back for Minnesota United’s reserve team, for what that’s worth. Similarly, they could pick a second striker instead of an attacking midfielder. Or Stipe Ukich could play up top. Oli Middleton has spent a bit of time on the wing in the AFC system. Adama Coulibaly could cover any position in the back four or midfield if required. You get the idea. Youth teams are always versatile.
Players from qualifying (July 2024) not selected for the 2025 U20 World Cup:
Luka Coveny, Alby Kelly-Heald, Daniel Makowem, Bruce Izumi, Lewis Partridge, Lachlan Candy, Seth Karunaratne, Rico Pradhan & Eamonn McCarron
2023 U17 World Cup Squad Picked for 2025 U20 World Cup:
Gabe Sloane-Rodrigues, Noah Dupont, Nathan Walker, Luke Supyk & Stipe Ukich
2023 U20 World Cup Squad Returning For A Second U20s Stint:
Lukas Kelly-Heald & Henry Gray
Beyond all that, the biggest eligible omission was Tyler Bindon… not that that was ever realistic. He’s got work to do at Sheffield United, especially since Ruben Selles has been sacked – the coach who brought him to the club having previously given Bindon his pro debut at Reading. It’d be cool to have him around but others will gain way more from this experience than TB would.
Surprised not to see Marley Leuluai though. He was captain at the U17 World Cup in 2023... and he’s definitely fit because he’s been regularly playing for Burnley U21s this season and even made his first matchday squad for the senior team a few weeks ago, sitting on the bench in an EFL Cup tie. Quite a surprise that a bloke of that pedigree misses out though it could be a consequence of not being involved in either qualifying or the Chile tour. As the stat above tells you, hardly anyone from that U17 WC group made this group. But it does feel like they’re a midfielder short in this squad (perhaps Coulibaly is being eyed up for that role?).
Fact is, we’ve got too many good players to fit into a single squad. That’s what we’re working with these days. All the fit/eligible Nix and AFC players on scholarship or full A-League contracts are here, as are the most relevant overseas pros with the exception of Leuluai and Bindon. The only concern is that not a single local player has been picked from outside the two A-League set-ups despite plenty of candidates (Chatham Cup hero Isa Prins from Wellington Olympic stands out as a snub). But you can’t argue about the guys who are there. It’s another impressive NZ U20s group and now we wait to see what they can do on the big stage.
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