A squad featuring three overseas based players plus plenty of home talent has been named by coach Chris Greenacre for the OFC Men's U-19 Championship.
The tournament will be played in Samoa next month.
The 23-player squad features 20 players based in Aotearoa New Zealand and three playing overseas in Australia, Dubai and the USA.
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Six players in Greenacre’s squad were also selected to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at last year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia.
Of note is Luke Coveny the son of former All Whites great Vaughan who plays in the A-League for Western United FC.
James Bulkeley has Australian and New Zealand links and is now based in Dubai while
Keegan Kelly who was a prolific goalscorer in Auckland. which led to his naming in the New Zealand U23 team.
Kelly is now at College in the United States n the Flatirons Rush team in South Carolina.
Greenacre feels his side has the experience and talent to get the job done, but feels the competition will be tough.
“It is great to name my first tournament squad and I look forward to meeting up with the team in Samoa and getting to work.
“This is a strong group with a number of players already having represented Aotearoa New Zealand on the international stage, but we know the level of the teams in Oceania is rapidly developing so this will be a tough tournament but great for our players’ development," said Greenacre.
Eleven of the 23-strong squad are Phoenix players and the team is coached by club legend Chris Greenacre.
The Nix contingent is headlined by first-team squad members Alby Kelly-Heald, Luke Supyk and Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues.
New Zealand has been drawn in Group B at the tournament alongside New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and hosts Samoa.
NZ squad:
James BULKELEY, Fleetwood United FC, Dubai
Lachlan CANDY, Waterside Karori FC, New Zealand
Adama COULIBALY, Western Springs AFC, New Zealand
Luka COVENY, Western United FC, Australia
Fergus GILLION, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Bruce IZUMI, Western Suburbs FC, New Zealand
Seth KARUNARATNE, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Keegan KELLY, Flatirons Rush SC, USA
Alby KELLY-HEALD, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Tze-Xuan LOKE, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Daniel MAKOWEM, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Eamonn MCCARRON, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Finn MCKENLAY, Eastern Suburbs AFC, New Zealand
Oliver MIDDLETON, Auckland United FC, New Zealand
Lewis PARTRIDGE, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Codey PHOENIX, Auckland United FC, New Zealand
Rico PRADHAN, Christchurch United FC, New Zealand
Gabriel SLOANE-RODRIGUES, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Luke SUPYK, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Stipe UKICH, Auckland City FC, New Zealand
Nathan WALKER, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Joe WALLIS, Auckland City FC, New Zealand
Ryan WATSON, Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
New Zealand face New Caledonia July (KO 11am NZT), before facing Samoa on 9 July (KO 2pm NZT) and Papua New Guinea on 12 July (KO 11am NZT). All games will be played at FFS Football Stadium in Apia, Samoa.
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