The Wellington Phoenix will once again be represented on the world stage, as four players from the academy have been selected for the upcoming men’s U-17 World Cup in Qatar.
Joseph Chalabi, Joe McIntyre, Dan Nelson, and Jack Perniskie are all part of the New Zealand squad after being regular members of the Nix U-18 men’s side.
The junior All Whites have qualified for the knockout stages three times before, but not since 2015, and are looking to shake that drought.
“This is a strong squad, where the core group have been together for over a year now, so we are all keen to take that next step and show what we can do at a FIFA U-17 World Cup,” said head coach Martin Bullock.
“I know the whole group is looking forward to getting over to Qatar and getting our FIFA U-17 World Cup journey underway.”
New Zealand have been drawn in Group L at the tournament alongside Austria, Mali and Saudi Arabia.
The team start against Mali on Thursday 6 November (KO 3:45am NZT), before facing Saudi Arabia on Sunday 9 November (KO 4:45am NZT), and Austria on Wednesday 12 November (KO 4:45am NZT).
All matches excluding the final will be played in a single location, the Aspire Zone in Doha.
All tournament games will be available to watch live and free on FIFA+, while New Zealand’s games will also be free to watch via TVNZ.
