The New Zealand squad has been named for the upcoming 2026 International Youth Soccer Tournament, which will be played in Niigata, Japan, this month.

The tournament, which New Zealand also participated in in 2023, brings together U-17 teams from around the world to play competitive matches ahead of major international tournaments, including the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

For the 2026 edition, the Men’s U-17 team will open their campaign against a U-17 Niigata regional representative side (17 September, kick-off 3pm NZT), before facing Myanmar U-17 (19 September, kick-off 6pm NZT) and Japan U-17 (21 September, kick-off 6pm NZT).

The first two matches will be played at Niigata City Athletic Stadium, with the final game against hosts Japan taking place at Denka Big Swan Stadium, also in Niigata.

The tournament takes place two months ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026, which will be played in Qatar, where New Zealand have been drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Mali and Vietnam.

Head coach Martin Bullock has selected an 18-player squad for the tour, with 14 players based domestically and four playing overseas in Australia, England and the Republic of Ireland.

Fourteen of the players selected were part of the squad that won the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship 2025, the qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2026.

The full squad is:

TOMAS BLACKHALL - Melville United, NZ (Hamilton Boys’ High School)
LUKE CARTER - Western Springs, NZ (Avondale College)
ZACH CASHMORE - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (Scots College)
GRAYSON CATTLE - Wellington Phoenix, NZ
JACK CLEGG - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa)
WILLEM DES TOMBE - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (St Patrick’s College)
GETHYN FOSTER - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa)
CAILEAN HAMILTON - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa)
SEAN KANE - Auckland FC, NZ (St Kentigern)
LACHLAN MACINTYRE - Brentford FC, ENG (Elthorne Park High School)
WILLIAM MARTIN - Queensland Lions, AU (Ipswich Grammar School)
JOSEPH MCINTYRE - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa)
MATIAS NUNEZ - Auckland United, NZ (Rutherford College)
CRUZ PIETERSEN - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa)
KEIGO SHIMOKAWA - Melbourne Victory, AU (Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School)
ZAC THOMAS - Bohemian FC, IRL (Castleknock Community College)
BEN TRENBERTH - Wellington Phoenix, NZ (New Zealand Performance Academy Aotearoa)
SENA VESTY - Christchurch United, NZ (Burnside High School)

“It is really important to give players the opportunity to test themselves in competitive international games ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, so this tournament is the perfect preparation,” says Men’s U-17 head coach Martin Bullock.

“The majority of the group already know each other well from the OFC U-16 Men’s Championship campaign last year, but this tournament gives us even more opportunity to build on those relationships on and off the pitch, as well as introduce some new players, ahead of naming our squad for the World Cup in just over a month’s time.”

Article added: Tuesday 01 September 2026