All Whites' coach names youngest side in New Zealand Football history

Clayton Lewis during the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Photo / Getty

The team named by All Whites coach Fritz Schmid on Friday is arguably the most youthful and inexperienced national squad in New Zealand football history.

As revealed in Thursday's Herald, there have been some raw All Whites sides down the years, but none like this.

Schmid has named six uncapped players, while there are another 10 who have played five internationals or less.

Only five in the 23-man squad have 10 or more caps under the belt.

It's partly a combination of circumstances – with a lot of senior players unavailable or injured, the unavailability of the Kiwi contingent in Major League Soccer and NZF's desire to focus on youth, ahead of the 2020 Olympics in Japan.

The squad includes six uncapped players in goalkeepers Michael Woud and Nik Tzanez, defenders Nikko Boxall, Justin Gulley and Liberato Cacace and forward Noah Billingsley.

Six players who were in the squad selected by Schmid for the 1-0 loss to Canada in March – Michael McGlinchey, Marco Rojas, Michael Boxall, Jeremy Brockie, Ryan Thomas and Themi Tzimopoulos – were unavailable for this tour.

Chris Wood has also been given time off – after his stunning campaign with Burnley – and Winston Reid is injured.

The 23-man squad will compete against hosts India, Kenya and Chinese Taipei in the tournament staged at the Mumbai Football Arena from 1 – 10 June.

Schmid said the tournament is an excellent opportunity for his team in the early stages of their rebuilding towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

New Zealand will open The HERO Intercontinental Cup on 2 June against World No 111 Kenya, they will play World No 121 Chinese Taipei three days later and finish their pool games against World No 97 India.

The two top ranked sides from the six games will compete in the final on 10 June.

The Intercontinental Cup was first held in a tri-series format in 2017 (then known as Hero Tri-Nation Series).

India were crowned the champions of the tournament after they finished top of the table with a win over Mauritius and a draw with St. Kitts and Nevis.

It is the first event with the revised format.

NZF also confirmed Roger Spry as the newest member of the All Whites coaching team.

Spry has been named as an assistant Coach alongside Des Buckingham and José Figueira.

All Whites squad for The Intercontinental Cup (Club, Country, Caps, Goals)

Goalkeepers
Max Crocombe (Salford City, ENG) 1, 0
Michael Woud (Sunderland, ENG) 0, 0
Nik Tzanev (AFC Wimbledon, ENG) 0, 0

Defenders
Nikko Boxall (Viborg FF, DEN) 0, 0
Adam Mitchell (Bolton Wanderers, ENG) 1, 0
Sam Brotherton (Sunderland, ENG) 10, 0
Thomas Doyle (Wellington Phoenix) 9, 0
Dane Ingham (Brisbane Roar, AUS) 7, 0
Te Atawhai Hudson Wihongi (Onehunga Sports) 5, 0
Justin Gulley (Stop Out Sports) 0, 0
Liberato Cacace (Wellington Phoenix) 0, 0

Midfielders
Matt Ridenton (Newcastle Jets, AUS) 3, 0
Sarpreet Singh (Wellington Phoenix) 1, 0
Henry Cameron (Limerick, IRL) 2, 0
Cameron Howieson (Three Kings United) 10, 0
Clayton Lewis (Scunthorpe United, ENG) 14, 0
Tim Payne (Eastern Suburbs) 15, 2
Alex Rufer (Wellington Phoenix) 5, 0
Andre De Jong (Hakoah, AUS) 1, 0
Moses Dyer (Manukau United) 10, 0

Forwards
Jai Ingham (Melbourne Victory, AUS) 1, 0
Noah Billingsley (Santa Barbara University, USA) 0, 0
Myer Bevan (Husqvarna FF, SWE) 3, 1

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