Football: Reid not yet ruled out of All Whites squad

Captain Winston Reid has not yet been ruled out of the All Whites squad. Photo / NZPA

Captain Winston Reid was absent from the All Whites squad named to take on Oman next week but coach Anthony Hudson hasn't yet ruled him out of their last international match of the year.

Reid has missed the last four weeks of action for West Ham in the English Premier League due to a hip injury. Hudson said today All Whites medical staff would assess Reid's situation over the next 24 to 48 hours.

"We will take everything into consideration and make a decision and it has to be in the best interest of ourselves and Winston," he said.

It's hard to see West Ham being entirely happy to see a key player travel to the Middle East to make his return from injury and All Whites coaches have often struggled to get access to their best players outside Fifa tournaments.

Reid isn't the only first-choice player missing and the 19-man squad was almost more notable for who wasn't picked than who was.

Tommy Smith, Glen Moss, Bill Tuiloma, Tyler Boyd, Jeremy Brockie, Deklan Wynne and Storm Roux were all left out for a range of reasons.

Smith and Moss were left out due to "personal reasons", which Hudson would not elaborate on further, and Marseille midfielder Tuiloma's absence was put down to a lack of regular game time. "Since he's been with the All Whites, he's yet to complete a game, yet to play 90 minutes," Hudson said. "In fact, I would say the majority of our substitutions are down to this.

"His club doesn't recognise the window, as do quite a few clubs in lower league football. They have games and, for us to get a stronger and a more competitive Bill Tuiloma, we need him playing regular first-team football."

Strikers Boyd and Brockie were overlooked for "footballing reasons" and eligibility concerns prevented Wynne and Roux being selected.

Wynne became the subject of controversy when the New Zealand under-23 side were disqualified on the eve of playing their final Olympic qualifier because he was deemed ineligible. It has since emerged others are ineligible and concerns remain over Roux.

New Zealand Football had their appeal to their disqualification rejected by the Oceania Football Confederation and are now contemplating taking their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The Herald reported today NZF have already spent $170,000 in legal bills on the case and it could top $300,000 if they take it to CAS.

"We still wait and I'm hopeful," Hudson said about Wynne and Roux. "This is out of my hands. We have a committee that deals with that, and we'll see how it goes. They're very important players for us."

Hudson is still looking for his first win as All Whites coach in what will be his sixth game in charge (three defeats and two draws).

Striker Chris Wood will captain the side in Reid's absence and there's plenty of ability with the likes of Marco Rojas, Ryan Thomas, Michael McGlinchey, Kosta Barbarouses and Shane Smeltz.

Hudson has included eight players from across the successful 2015 age-group World Cup campaigns which saw both the under-17 and under-20 sides qualify for the knockout phase of their respective tournaments - a first for NZF in the same cycle - as well as 18-year-old Blackpool midfielder Henry Cameron.

"We've found one or two new players that will add depth, quality and experience to the squad," Hudson said. "So we are now moving towards a much stronger base of players to pick from."

All Whites squad to play Oman in Muscat on Friday (3am NZT): Goalkeepers: Max Crocombe (Southport), Stefan Marinovic (SpVgg Unterhaching), Nik Tzanev (Brentford); Defenders: Michael Boxall (SuperSport Utd), Sam Brotherton (Wisconsin University), Tom Doyle (Wellington Phoenix), Louis Fenton (Wellington Phoenix), Themi Tzimopoulos (PAS Giannina); Midfielders: Kosta Barbarouses (Melbourne Victory), Henry Cameron (Blackpool), Clayton Lewis (Auckland City), Michael McGlinchey (Wellington Phoenix), Marco Rojas (FC Thun), Alex Rufer (Wellington Phoenix), Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle), Te Atawhai Hudson-Wihongi (Auckland City); Strikers: Logan Rogerson (Wellington Phoenix), Shane Smeltz (Sydney FC), Chris Wood (Leeds Utd).

- nzherald.co.nz