All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley has named his squad to face Egypt (FIFA rank 36) and one of Croatia (FIFA rank 10) or Tunisia (FIFA rank 41) at the W Cup in Abu Dhabi, UAE later this month. 

The 24-player squad sees recalls for Kosta Barbarouses, Dane Ingham, Ben Old, and Oli Sail, who weren’t part of November’s Greece and Republic of Ireland tour, as well as a debut call-up for Wellington Phoenix’s 18-year-old defender Lukas Kelly-Heald who has enjoyed a breakthrough season in the A-League Men.

Bazeley’s squad features eight players aged 23 or under (Tyler Bindon, Matthew Garbett, Lukas Kelly-Heald, Ben Old, Alex Paulsen, Marko Stamenic, Finn Surman and Ben Waine) who will be eligible to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics in July. 

The full squad is:

Goalkeepers:
Max Crocombe (4 Caps) Burton Albion FC, England
Alex Paulsen (0 Caps) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Oli Sail (9 Caps) Perth Glory FC, Australia

Defenders:
Tyler Bindon (4 Caps) Reading FC, England
Michael Boxall (47 Caps) Minnesota United FC, USA
Liberato Cacace (20 Caps) Empoli FC, Italy
Dane Ingham (13 Caps) Newcastle Jets, Australia
Lukas Kelly-Heald* (0 Caps) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Tim Payne (34 Caps) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Nando Pijnaker (18 Caps) Sligo Rovers, Republic of Ireland
Tommy Smith (51 Caps) Macarthur FC, Australia
Finn Surman (1 Caps) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand

Midfielders:
Joe Bell (18 Caps) Viking FK, Norway
Matthew Garbett (20 Caps) NAC Breda, Netherlands
Clayton Lewis (25 Caps) Macarthur FC, Australia
Callum McCowatt (17 Caps) Silkeborg IF, Denmark
Ben Old (2 Caps) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Sarpreet Singh (12 Caps) FC Hansa Rostock, Germany
Marko Stamenic (19 Caps) FK Crvena zvezda, Serbia

Forwards:
Kosta Barbarouses (54 Caps) Wellington Phoenix FC, Aotearoa New Zealand
Elijah Just (20 Caps) AC Horsens, Denmark
Max Mata (9 Caps) Sligo Rovers, Republic of Ireland
Ben Waine (11 Caps) Plymouth Argyle FC, England
Chris Wood (74 Caps) Nottingham Forest, England

*Debut call-up

All Whites head coach Darren Bazeley said:

“For us as a team everything is focused on building towards qualifying for, and then competing at, the FIFA World Cup 2026, so this tournament is a perfect opportunity to play competitive games against highly ranked sides to see how we are tracking.

“It also gives us a great chance to test and refine our processes on and off the pitch to continually improve how we operate so that when qualifying comes around we are in the best place to perform. 

“It is also exciting to be naming a squad with eight players aged 23 or under who are eligible for the Olympics in July, including Lukas Kelly-Heald for the first time who has had a great season with the Phoenix. 

“Lukas is someone I have worked with regularly in age group sides and has earned his call-up to this level. 

“This is a big year for the team with FIFA World Cup qualifying starting, but I know all of the players selected, as well as the extended All Whites group not part of this squad, are really excited about the potential we have to do something special.”

The All Whites will play Egypt on Saturday 23 March 2024 at 7am NZT [Friday 22 March at 10pm local time] at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 

The winner of the fixture will play in the W Cup Final against the winner of Croatia vs Tunisia on Wednesday 27 March 2024 at 7am NZT [Tuesday 26 March at 10pm local time] at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The loser of the fixture will play in the W Cup Third-Place Play-Off against the loser of Croatia vs Tunisia on Tuesday 26 March 2024 at 7am NZT [Tuesday 25 March at 10pm local time] at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Games from the tournament can be watched live and free on FIFA+. 

Article added: Monday 11 March 2024