There was a distinctly Wellington Phoenix flavour as New Zealand beat Ivory Coast on Sunday.
The 1-0 win in Toronto was the biggest victory in recent All Whites history.
In total, 12 of the 23-man squad had ties to the Phoenix, with 11 having either signed their first professional contract with the Nix or been part of the club’s academy.
This included six starters, notably player of the match Finn Surman, who led a resolute defensive display to keep a clean sheet against the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions.
Surman, Liberato Cacace, Sarpreet Singh, Callum McCowatt, and Kosta Barbarouses all began their professional careers at the Nix, with Joe Bell having featured for the academy side.
There were a further six players on the bench with links to Wellington, including current men’s captain Alex Rufer, who replaced Singh for the last half hour.
He was joined on the field by Ben Old and Callan Elliott, while their fellow academy graduates Alex Paulsen and Ben Waine were unused substitutes.
Michael Boxall, who represented Wellington for two seasons, was the other former Phoenix player involved.
The All Whites play their second game in the Canadian Shield tournament against Ukraine in Toronto on Wednesday, June 11 at 9am NZST.
