There’s been plenty of news involving the overseas-based New Zealand players in recent days with the Major League Soccer (MLS) season kicking off in the United States, the Kiwi pair in the English Premier League having hugely contrasting experiences and several Football Ferns going straight back into the action after their recent bout of international activity.

After finally returning to the field following a lengthy injury lay-off, striker Chris Wood has quickly hit top form again – a fact that is sure to delight new All Whites coach Fritz Schmid. Wood wasted no time in finding the net on his comeback for Burnley a fortnight ago, rising off the bench to score a winner against Everton and went one better in the next game. The 26-year-old again started on the bench at West Ham United but came on just past the hour and put in another match-winning shift, scoring two goals and setting up another as Burnley triumphed 3-0. In doing so, Wood became the first player to be involved in three Premier League goals as a substitute since 2015 and his importance to the Clarets’ cause is becoming increasingly apparent. They failed to win a game while he was out injured and have now posted back-to-back victories since his return with Wood scoring three goals in just 74 minutes of action, as well as notching an assist.

The only downside to the game from a Kiwi point of view was that All Whites fans were denied the chance to see two of their favourites directly come up against each other in one of the best leagues in the world. Wood’s international team mate Winston Reid suffered a nasty-looking injury when falling awkwardly in a 4-1 loss to Swansea City a week earlier and it has since been confirmed that he will be out for the rest of the season. West Ham boss David Moyes is disappointed to have lost such a key figure as he looks to lead his side away from relegation trouble. “It’s a really big blow because he’s a really important player for us,” Moyes said. “He’s experienced and with the games we’ve got coming up in the next ten weeks or so he was going to be really important.” The chance to face off against his All Whites colleague would have been relished by Wood, who is delighted to be joined by Reid in flying the New Zealand flag in the English top flight. “It’s fantastic, it’s probably the first time in the history that we’ve had two at the same time,” he said. “Ryan Nelsen and Winny crossed over a little bit, Simon Elliott and Ryan crossed over a little bit, but not consistently. Hopefully over the years we will do that.”

In the lower leagues, it’s still a quiet time for Clayton Lewis, who was an unused substitute for Scunthorpe United in a 2-0 loss at home to Oldham Athletic and was not included in the match day squad a week later for a thrilling 3-3 draw against Wigan Athletic. Despite failing to pick up a win in either of their last two matches, the Iron are fifth in League One and well in the play-off hunt, meaning Lewis could line up in the second-tier Championship next season if he can break into the side. Also aiming to become a Championship regular is Adam Mitchell, who has been a mainstay in a highly-successful Bolton Wanderers U-23 group but had to be content with a place on the bench this time as the Trotters took on Barnsley in the Professional Development League North. The centre back came on in the 68^th minute with Bolton leading 3-1 at the Macron Stadium and helped them close out the victory to strengthen their position at the top of the table. Also coming on as a substitute in an important win was Sam Brotherton, who played with Mitchell in the heart of New Zealand’s defence on home soil during the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The young All Whites defender has struggled for game time in recent months but entered the action as a late substitute as the Sunderland U-23s beat Everton 2-1 at the Stadium of Light. It was a vital three points for the Black Cats as they now move to within a point of safety in the Premier League 2.

Back in first-team football, Steven Old had an eventful game as Morecambe fell 1-0 at Accrington Stanley in League Two. The former All White played the full 90 minutes and picked up a booking before nearly equalising for the Shrimps when his header was cleared off the line. Morecambe remain in 21^st place and are still not clear of the threat of dropping out of the Football League. Heading in the other direction are Max Crocombe and Salford City, who are on track for promotion to the National League, which is the highest rung on the non-league pyramid in England and offers a pathway into League Two. Salford are sharing the lead in National League North with Harrogate Town and goalkeeper Crocombe played a vital role in their most recent win. With the score locked at 1-1 against Tamworth, the All Whites squad member pulled off an outstanding penalty save in the dying minutes, diving low to his left to block the shot before showing lightning reflexes to gather the resulting loose ball. Even better, Salford went straight down the other end to score a dramatic winner, leaving Crocombe to reflect on one of the highlights of his career so far. “You don’t get many moments like that in football, especially not in goal where it’s so thankless,” he says. “I’m not going to try to claim I’m a genius – I just went one way and stuck with it and just believed I could get there.”

Also in England but away from the pitch, there was a reunion for Danny Robinson and Gary Connell, who worked together for several years in the Football Ferns coaching staff. Former Waitakere United goalkeeper Robinson was previously goalkeeping coach for the Ferns while Connell is the Head of Performance Analysis for New Zealand Football. Connell is currently spending time in Europe between the respective Football Ferns and All Whites camps in Spain and dropped into Championship club Burton Albion, for whom Robinson now works as Academy Manager. Connell took the chance to catch up with his former Ferns colleague and also passed on some knowledge to his counterpart in the Burton academy.

In the women’s game, Olivia Chance and Anna Green have both returned to their respective clubs and will be back in action over the coming days. Chance has a Women’s FA Cup quarter-final to look forward to on Sunday when Everton take on Durham for a place in the final four. Everton last reached the final in 2014 and will be favourites to progress against a side sitting third in the second tier of the FA Women’s Super League, a level below the top-flight Toffees. Green would have had even less time to recover from the Ferns’ two-match series against Scotland as Reading were set to take the field on Wednesday evening against Yeovil Town in the Super League but the match was called off due to a water-logged pitch.  

Over in mainland Europe, yet another promising young Kiwi player has joined the professional ranks with the news that three-cap All White Joel Stevens has put pen to paper on a deal with Husqvarna FF in the Swedish third tier. After starring for Team Wellington as they notched back-to-back ISPS Handa Premiership titles, the 23-year-old decided to pursue a professional contract again after spending time at the Wellington Phoenix earlier in his career. He left the capital midway through the current national league campaign to try his luck in Europe and had several trials in Sweden before signing for Husqvarna. “I didn’t mind where I started, I just wanted a starting point to see how far I could go,” he said. “Obviously, there’s a bigger shop window (in Europe) and I don’t have a European passport which is hard but I just want to see how far my football ability can take me. I’ve been told that it could take me far, so I just want to see for myself I guess.”

Stevens is not the only All White who has headed to Scandinavia in recent days with Chris James joining newly-promoted Finnish second-tier outfit Kotkan Tyovaen Palloilijat. It is the latest chapter in a nomadic career for the midfielder, who played in England, Finland, Australia, France and America before a brief spell in New Zealand with Eastern Suburbs this season. He has not taken long to make an impact in his new surroundings, finding the net on his debut in a 6-1 win over PEPO Lappeenranta. The 30-year-old got on the end of a flowing team move to clinically smash home from the edge of the area. James and Stevens are part of a growing contingent of Kiwis in Scandinavia which also includes Nikko Boxall, who recently swapped Finland’s KuPS for Viborg FF in Denmark, and Tyler Lissette, a regular in the Swedish second tier for IFK Varnamo.

In the big leagues, Ryan Thomas continues to lead the way for the Europe-based New Zealanders, although he didn’t have a weekend to remember fondly in the Dutch Eredivisie. The prodigiously talented 23-year-old from Te Puke got his name on the scoresheet but unfortunately it was for the other team as his own goal contributed to a 2-0 loss for PEC Zwolle against Groningen. Thomas tried to make amends in the second half but his strike crashed off the crossbar as Zwolle’s relatively fruitless start to the year continued. After beginning the season so well, they have now won just once since Christmas but have managed to remain in the top seven. Funnily enough, that victory came against the only other Dutch top-flight side with a Kiwi in its ranks, Marco Rojas’ SC Heerenveen. The ‘Kiwi Messi’ has seen a fair amount of game time in recent weeks, playing for over an hour as an injury-enforced substitute in a 2-0 win over Willem II before coming on for the last 17 minutes of a 4-1 defeat at Ajax. Heerenveen are now five points behind Zwolle in 11^th. Over in Portugal, Tyler Boyd again played a full match – his third 90-minute shift in a row and fourth in five games – but couldn’t break the deadlock for CD Tondela in an uneventful scoreless draw at Belenenses. Boyd did his best to get on the scoreboard, firing off a couple of shots and finding the target with one.

In the women’s game in Europe, Football Ferns captain Ali Riley was pressed straight back into action after her international duty, taking full part as FC Rosengard edged out Kristianstads DFF 3-2 in the Swedish Cup. Rosengard are one of the favourites to lift the trophy after doing so for the previous two years in a row. Hannah Wilkinson’s team, Vittsjo, was also in action in the same competition and enjoyed a massive 8-0 win over Qviding FIF but the Ferns forward was not involved due to suspension after being sent off in the previous game. In France, goalkeeper Erin Nayler joined Riley in promptly going back to the grindstone, taking her usual place between the sticks for Bordeaux in a 2-2 draw with Rodez Aveyron. Striker Katie Rood also saw some game time, coming on for a late cameo as Juventus claimed a 2-0 win over Verona in Italy. Jana Radosavljevic, who was not included on the recent Ferns tour, was more heavily involved for BV Cloppenburg in the German second tier, playing for over an hour but being unable to prevent a 4-0 loss to VfL Wolfsburg.

Across the Atlantic, a record number of Kiwis were involved in the MLS in recent days with five starting for their respective clubs and a further two on the bench. Myer Bevan (Vancouver Whitecaps) and the injured Kip Colvey (Colorado Rapids) were the only two members of the Kiwi invasion to not feature as Jake Gleeson (Portland Timbers), Stefan Marinovic (Vancouver Whitecaps), Michael Boxall (Minnesota United), Tommy Smith and Deklan Wynne (both Colorado Rapids) all earned starting berths while Bill Tuiloma (Portland Timbers) and Elliot Collier (Chicago Fire) were both named as substitutes.

Earning most of the plaudits were the glove-wielding pair of Marinovic and Gleeson, who have both been in good form in the first two matches of the season. The Whitecaps have started their campaign with a pair of wins for the first time since 2012 and Marinovic has played a big part in that, even overcoming illness to be named man of the match in a 2-1 win over Houston Dynamo. To the delight of coach Carl Robinson, the big Kiwi made a total of six saves, including two outstanding ones to keep his side ahead. “Stefan came up big, I thought,” Robinson said. “He’s been suffering from flu all week and it was a question mark on whether I would play him or not. I’m glad I did, he came up with two key saves.” Gleeson had a less enjoyable day for the Timbers, his saves proving fruitless in a 4-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls as Tuiloma watched from the bench.

Fellow All White Boxall was meanwhile bouncing back from a first-up loss for Minnesota United by playing his part in an important 2-1 win over Orlando City, the centre back at the heart of a defence that was only breached by a controversial penalty. Collier wasn’t able to celebrate a win with Chicago but had a personal milestone to toast after making his MLS debut. The 23-year-old came on for the closing moments of a 4-3 defeat to Sporting Kansas City to become the latest Kiwi to appear in America’s highest-profile league and complete a rapid rise to prominence. He had the pleasure of playing in front of Fire midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who played over 120 matches for Germany and lists Bayern Munich and Manchester United as his former clubs. Also suffering defeat on their MLS debuts were Smith and Wynne as Anthony Hudson’s reign at the Colorado Rapids started with a loss. The Rapids fell 2-1 at New England Revolution and the All Whites pair both took full part with Smith nearly getting on the scoresheet with a powerful header from a corner. One All White no longer set to feature in the MLS for the time being though is James Musa, who has left Sporting Kansas City to join United Soccer League (USL) outfit Phoenix Rising.

In Asia, there have been exciting times for a pair of Kiwi players with former Auckland City star Ryan de Vries making his debut for his new club in Japan and Keegan Linderboom also joining the professional ranks after signing with Balestier Khalsa FC, who play in the Singapore top flight. Linderboom has already jetted off, meaning Waitakere United are without his services for the closing weeks of the ISPS Handa Premiership. De Vries departed Auckland City some time ago but has had to bide his time before debuting for J-League 2 outfit FC Gifu, finally coming off the bench for a seven-minute cameo in a 3-2 win over JEF United Chiba in their third game of the new season.

In the Asian Champions League, Kosta Barbarouses was the hero for Melbourne Victory after scoring a last-minute winner to defeat Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale 1-0. The All Whites winger picked up the ball on the right hand side of the box and cut in on his left foot before sliding a slick finish inside the near post. Another win for Melbourne over Ulsan Hyundai in Korea next month will now be enough to get them through to the knockout stages. Jai Ingham was included on the bench for Melbourne’s last-gasp win but did not see any action while goalkeeper Glen Moss was also an unused substitute as the Newcastle Jets earned what is likely to become a famous 2-1 win against Sydney in front of over 18,000 fans – the largest home crowd for the Jets since 2013. Storm Roux meanwhile played the full 90 minutes but couldn’t stop Central Coast Mariners going down 3-1 on their lengthy trip to Perth Glory.

Likewise having a frustrating day was the Kiwi contingent at the Wellington Phoenix, who were humbled 4-1 on the road at Western Sydney Wanderers. Andrew Durante, Tom Doyle, Liberato Cacace, Matt Ridenton and Sarpreet Singh all started the match while Alex Rufer and Logan Rogerson were named on the bench. One of the few bright moments of the game for the Phoenix was another goal to Singh, who latched on to a loose ball in the box and sweetly stroked an effort home to level the scores at 1-1 just before the break. Singh was later replaced in the 70^th minute while Cacace made way with seven minutes remaining as Rufer and Rogerson both entered the fray.

In South Africa, Jeremy Brockie’s wait to open his account for new club the Mamelodi Sundowns continues but he did play a significant role in helping them beat EC Bees 2-1 in the last 16 of the Nedbank Cup. Brockie started for the Sundowns and made a vital contribution with 15 minutes remaining, playing a perfectly-timed pass into the path of Thapelo Morena to score his side’s second goal. Mamelodi now move on to the quarter-finals as Brockie looks to win his third consecutive Nedbank Cup after earning back-to-back titles with previous club SuperSport United.