Get it in ya, mate. The All Whites squad for the Confederations Cup build up has been named and she’s an interesting beast, that’s for sure. A few returning faces, one or two surprises in there … very interesting indeed.

It’s a 23 man squad which will play against Northern Ireland with a match against Irish club side Cabinteely FC afterwards. Then they play Belarus in another friendly. (The Cabinteely game will probably feature more of a second XI, with the best team starting the two full internationals). Anthony Hudson hadn’t entirely made his plans clear for that (though there’ve been a few strong hints) but the suggestion is that this will also be the squad that travels to Russia for the Confederations Cup, give or take any injuries or maybe the odd change of plan.

That squad will be confirmed on June 8, which is four days before the Belarus friendly, and the only real conflict between then and now is the Under-20 World Cup but in picking both Clayton Lewis and Dane Ingham from there it seems that Hudson’s played the priority card – it’s already been mentioned that some players could leave the 20s early to join up with the senior team. So that all means we’re staring at the top strength All Whites squad here, about to prepare for a major tournament as a cohesive squad (someone tell the Blackcaps this is how it’s meant to work).

A little while ago the Nichey Niche chucked up this piece about Hudson’s selection trends over his tenure, trying to grasp some idea of how the squad for the Confeds would look based on all that. As part of that a squad was picked, a mock squad, that seemed to fit with Uncle Tony’s plans. Well, Winston Reid’s injury put a bit of a stall to that but if you take Sam Brotherton as a clear replacement for him then the mock squad was pretty damn close. 20 outta 23 names. Jake Gleeson, Moses Dyer and Jai Ingham were picked ahead of Tamati Williams, Tommy Doyle and Alex Rufer. Not bad though. But let’s tackle this thing with six sprigs up, position by position.

GOALKEEPERS

Stefan Marinovic – 14 caps / 0 goals

Glen Moss – 29 / 0

Tamati Williams – 1 / 0

Marinovic and Moss pick themselves and need no explanations. The only issue with the keepers is that Jake Gleeson, once again, is not there. His is a complicated situation that’s never really been explained. In the past it’s been hypothesised that his visa situation could be a part of it after his DUI thingy. Also relevant is that the MLS season, where he’s the starting keeper for Portland Timbers, is ongoing and runs through the Confeds Cup and when he’d only be going to sit on the bench and watch Marinovic play you can gather why he might not mind distancing himself slightly. There’d be club pressure at him every day to do exactly that. Plus there’s that out of sight, out of mind thing happening. Hasn’t been in a few squads, we have other good keepers… maybe it’s best for all parties that he stays in Portland.

Tamati Williams then gets the nod as the experienced chap. Others like Nik Tzanev and Max Crocombe might put more pressure on him in the future but as of now Williams is still playing at a higher level and more regularly. Michael Woud of the U20s is a name to watch out for too with his assured efforts at that youth World Cup lately but he’s super young and already kinda busy. Lewis and Ingham have been plucked from the 20s because they can threaten a starting spot. Not so much with Woud so no reason to disturb his current task.

DEFENDERS

Michael Boxall - 22 / 0

Sam Brotherton - 7 / 0

Kip Colvey - 8 / 0

Tommy Doyle – 4 / 0

Andrew Durante – 15 / 0

Dane Ingham - 1 / 0

Storm Roux – 7 / 0

Tommy Smith – 31 / 2

Themi Tzimopoulos – 10 / 1

Deklan Wynne - 7 / 0

Storm Roux last played for the All Whites in March 2015, starting at right back in all of Hudson’s first four games in charge before dropping out of the mix completely. It wasn’t his fault. A mix of eligibility dramas and a serious leg injury derailed his international career and since returning to full fitness (and eligibility) he’s not yet found himself in one of these squads. But it had been hinted that he was ready to return and Hudson has shown a tendency to support guys who go out of their way to recommit to his team. Tommy Smith, Glen Moss, Shane Smeltz all for example. Roux has been a part of the dozen (mostly) A-League based fellas training with the team in Auckland this past week and with talk about how that group is gonna build the core of the squad, the base of the tactics and all that, he was always a likely selection. Alex Rufer and Tom Doyle (perhaps the two most controversial inclusions) were also in that unit, as were Monty Patterson and Kosta Barbarouses. However Hamish Watson, Jai Ingham and Liam Graham all missed out despite it.

(Full Training Camp: Durante, Doyle, Moss, McGlinchey, Graham, Patterson, J.Ingham, Rojas, Barbarouses, Rufer, Roux & Watson).

The main news a week ago was Winston Reid’s injury withdrawal. There’s nothing shady about this: he’s genuinely hurt and having surgery. A bone growth in his left knee. It seemed to come around at an inconvenient time, sure, but the rumour that he’d been playing hurt for West Ham lingered back a few weeks and it turns out it’d been a problem for well over a month. According to the Hammers’ medical fella, he coulda kept on playing but eventually you get to the point where there’s no reason to risk it further. He missed West Ham’s last game of the season (he wasn’t the only one there who had late season surgery and missed the last game or two either) and will now miss the Confederations Cup, though should be okay for 2017-18.

Look, we just have to kinda accept that Winston Reid isn’t often going to be available for the All Whites. It’s nothing to do with ‘passion’ or ‘desire’ or ‘patriotism’ – it’s simply business. Plus you can argue that he does more for New Zealand football as a Premier League player than he would for the national team, getting Aotearoa recognised for its footy and showing that there’s a pathway to the top for other kiwis. It’s that same Steven Adams debate. And don’t forget there’s a World Cup qualifying playoff in November which is much more important than this tournament, let’s be honest there.

Sam Brotherton is presumably his replacement in the squad. Boxall, Durante, Tzimopoulos and Smith are all easy picks – with Boxall likely to edge out Tzimo for a starting place. As an added bonus, Ipswich started playing a three-man defence towards the end of the season which Smithy partook in a couple times, which is always nice in preparing for this. He’s short on minutes in his legs, as might Dura and the rest of the Nix dudes be after their season ended, but you can always look at that from the other side and say that they’re fresh.

A little surprising they picked five wide defenders (plus Mike Boxall who is a right back for his club and used to play the same role for the Welly Nix). With Roux back in the fold, he’ll be competing for the starting RB role. Kip Colvey is also in that conversation with the added ability to play on the left if needed while Dane Ingham has emerged as a new favourite of Hudson’s on the right after debuting against Fiji. Looked good that day too. With all that depth on the right there was no room for Liam Graham although Tommy Doyle does get a nod as Deklan Wynne’s likely understudy on the left. Otherwise we were looking at a fairly unbalanced wingback group.

MIDFIELDERS

Clayton Lewis - 8 / 0

Mike McGlinchey – 42 / 4

Marco Rojas – 32 / 5

Alex Rufer - 3 / 0

Ryan Thomas – 9 / 2

Bill Tuiloma - 16 / 0

These are NZF’s definitions of positions, Marco Rojas is more likely to play as a second striker based on recent selections but whatever. He also offers width up front if necessary and is especially good in that hole between midfield and the forwards. Oh and he just had a great season for Melbourne Victory and has four goals in six games for the All Whites since scoring the decisive penalty in the 2016 Nations Cup. Absolute sitter of a pick, as was Mike McGlinchey (Hudson’s most regular player) and Bill Tuiloma (their only genuine defensive midfielder). Ryan Thomas was brilliant last time out for NZ and can play anywhere in the midfield. He and Tuiloma also have the added motivation of potentially playing for transfers.

Not much else to say on that quartet – it’s more about what balance they strike with the starting lineups. Do you risk the undersized but technically gifted duo of Wee Mac and Thommo or does Tuiloma have to be there for strength? Tui can also play CB if needed. Of course if Rojas is playing as the second striker then you can pick all three.

As for Clayton Lewis, he’s currently captaining the U20s at their World Cup but will have had advance warning there. This squad has already jetted out to Northern Ireland while Lewis is still in South Korea although they’ve said they’re not above dudes leaving that U20 setup early. Lewis and Ingham are the two that are affected there. Bit stink for the U20s, even if that’s a pretty strong squad that definitely has the depth to compete without those two stars.

And Alex Rufer? He’s the token Hudson Favourite pick. Usually that spot is reserved for Moses Dyer, who is also at the U20 WC, but after coming out strong in defending Rufer’s selection as an injury replacement for the last squad it seems Huddo’s really doubled down on that. No real worries, if anything Rufer offers a little more variation than Dyer’s midfield effort-man routine does – and neither would’ve been first XI anyway.

Unlike the defence and goalkeeping, there are a few more disappointed folks from the midfield contingent. Rojas’ teammate Jai Ingham is the main one. Sucks for him that his younger brother made it while he, an A-League match-day squad regular, did not… but there’s a different level of depth in those two positions and Ingham is not better than Rojas or Thomas, not even close yet.

Matt Ridenton was never really in contention, he's injured anyway. Tyler Boyd doesn’t look like he’s getting anywhere close to the national team again unless he reaches out for mercy. Henry Cameron can be slightly gutted, maybe. He’s with the U20s at the moment so he’s still in the wider setup, plus he’s not gotten back to his best since that injury on All Whites debut back in late-2015. He just needs footy – and this All Whites team is now good enough that they have the luxury of being able to pick guys on form, not only reputation.

FORWARDS

Kosta Barbarouses – 37 / 3

Monty Patterson – 9 / 1

Shane Smeltz – 53 / 24

Chris Wood – 47 / 19

Chris Wood is captain and should score a couple goals if things go as planned. He took a bit of a hit from a club perspective about twelve hours before this squad was named when Garry Monk resigned from Leeds United (probably with another job in mind) but after the season he just had – Championship Golden Boot and everything – we’re right to pin a few hopes on him. Deserving captain as well.

He’s joined by Shane Smeltz, no surprises there. Four goals shy of tying Vaughan Coveny’s New Zealand record for international goals. Although… one gets the feeling this All Whites tour isn’t gonna be stacked with goals, somehow. Regardless, Smeltz is just a class act. Great touch, vision, finishing, etc. All the things you want in a backup/second striker. Experience on this stage as well as one of the five players in this squad that went to the 2010 World Cup (Smeltz, Moss, McGlinchey, Smith & Wood) and this bugger even scored there.

Also Kosta Barbarouses is back. Not a huge shocker, to be honest. He’s done easily enough to deserve his recall and given how he responded to that snub for the Phoenix you almost had to wonder why it took the national team to give him the kick up the arse that got him back to his elusive best when he’d been dragging heels for the Nix all season until then. But, as Huddo says, an in-form Barba is a definite All Whites call-up. These comments from the NZF press release sum that all up perfectly…

Anthony Hudson: “The most pleasing thing for me was since the conversation we had after he missed the March window, his performances were really strong, scored some goals and played really well. He was doing things that I was looking for previously. I want Kosta at his very best. On his day he can hurt any national team in the world and we want more of his best days. I know he will add to this squad immensely.”

That’s awesome from Kosta’s perspective, that he responded so well. It’s also awesome from Hudson’s perspective to see him guiding that kind of response from a player given where his reign began, what with all them strange selection things. We’ve gotta admit now that those days are long gone and the All Whites are being very well managed right now. [Insert obligatory contradictory dig at New Zealand Football which I’m too lazy to make].

And rounding out this bad boy is Monty “Python” Patterson. Some will argue for Jeremy Brockie, others for a name or two out of the U20 hat. Myer Bevan looked fantastic against Honduras and he definitely has an All Whites future ahead of him… but not quite yet. Joe Bell, Hunter Ashworth, Michael Woud, Noah Billingsley and James McGarry (to name only five) all ought to play for New Zealand someday as well.

But as of May 2017, with a Confederations Cup on the immediate horizon, we need the best players at this very moment and Monty Patterson has performed for this team in the past. Yet to crack the senior grade at club level which counts against him but he’s familiar with the team and system, has come through the international youth ranks and best of all he offers a genuine wing option that we don’t really have otherwise. Picking a squad isn’t only about the best 23 players, it’s also about ensuring you have options off the bench and sometimes that means taking the point of difference with Patterson ahead of, say, Jai Ingham. Or Hamish “Wee Woody” Watson. Would wager we’ve also seen the last of Rory Fallon for the All Whites as well.

Hey and when we can pick a team of omissions like this then the All Whites are in a good place:

Jake Gleeson // Francis de Vries, Winston Reid, Luke Adams // Liam Graham, Matt Ridenton // Moses Dyer, Henry Cameron, Jai Ingham // Jeremy Brockie, Tyler Boyd

If you like this website like Anthony Hudson likes Alex Rufer then one way to show a little support would be to slap one of them ads that are scattered around the page. Nudge nudge, wink wink.