The men’s U-16 squad has been named for the upcoming FIFA Youth Series tournament, set to be played at FIFA’s Home of Football in Zurich, Switzerland, this May.

Head coach Martin Bullock’s side features 14 players based in Aotearoa New Zealand and eight playing overseas in Australia, England, and the USA. 

The full 22-player squad is:

Aidan Adams - Western United (St Monicas)
Oliver Anderson - Brighton & Hove Albion (Brighton College)
Max Carmichael - Seattle Sounders (Eastside Academics School)
Zach Cashmore - Miramar Rangers (Scots College)
Grayson Cattle - Palmerston North Marist (Palmerston North Boys’ High School)
Joseph Chalabi - Wellington Phoenix (Te Kura)
Willem Des Tombe - Wellington Phoenix (St Patrick’s College)
Zane Donaghy - Bristol Rovers
Ethan Dyer - Sydney FC (Endeavour Sports High School)
Nicholas Ferguson - Preston North End (Birkdale High School)
Gethyn Foster - Cambridge FC (Cambridge High School)
Cailean Hamilton - Wellington Phoenix (Upper Hutt College)
Jack Hocken - Christchurch United (Rolleston College)
Sean Kane - Eastern Suburbs (Saint Kentigern College)
Joe McIntyre - Wellington Phoenix (Hutt International Boys’ School)
Matias Nunez - Auckland United (Mount Albert Grammar School)
Benjamin Perez Baldoni - Ellerslie AFC (Selwyn College)
Alexander Taylor - Macarthur FC (Redlands School)
Oliver Thompson-Henderson - Dunedin City Royals (Otago Boys’ High School)
Ben Trenberth - Wellington Phoenix (Hutt International Boys’ School)
Sena Vesty - Christchurch United (Burnside High School)
John Woldegiorgis - Western United (The Grange P-12 College)

Men’s U-16 head coach Martin Bullock said:

“This is a really good tournament to be part of, it is great to have the opportunity to expose a number of these players to international football for the first time, especially ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup coming up later this year. 

“This is an exciting new group so I’m looking forward to assembling as a team together in Zurich and testing ourselves against some quality sides.”

The FIFA Youth Series is designed to provide U-16 players the chance to train, compete, and showcase their skills on the international stage. 

The 2025 edition features six teams, from all six of the FIFA confederations, split into two groups: 

Group A – Guatemala, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Switzerland

Group B – Malaysia, Paraguay, and Tunisia

Each team will play the other two countries in their group before facing off against the side in their equivalent position in the other pool (3rd vs 3rd, 2nd vs 2nd, and a final of 1st vs 1st to confirm the overall winner).

Aotearoa New Zealand will play Switzerland on 19 May, and Guatemala on 20 May, with both games kicking off at 2:30am NZT (18 and 19 May at 4:30pm local time).

The 5th place playoff and 3rd place playoff will be played on 22 May at 2:30am NZT and 9pm NZT respectively, with the Final on 23 May at 2:30am NZT. 

The tournament will be broadcast live and free on FIFA+.

Article added: Monday 05 May 2025