Three Wellington Phoenix players have been named in the New Zealand squad competing at the OFC U-19 Championship in September.
Eamonn McCarron, Dan Nelson, and Jayden Smith have all been selected and will travel to Samoa to compete as part of the Junior All Whites.
New Zealand have won the last four iterations of the tournament, and are looking to secure their tenth title overall.
The two finalists in the tournament will also qualify for next year’s U-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.
They begin their campaign against Tahiti on Wednesday, September 2 at 2pm, before taking on Fiji on Saturday, September 5 at 2pm.
Their final group stage game is against Vanuatu on Tuesday, September 8, again at 2pm.
Head coach José Figueira is excited to get stuck into the competition.
“The OFC U-19 Championship is a fantastic opportunity for our players to test themselves in a competitive international environment,” he said.
We know what’s at stake with a place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup on the line, but our focus is on continuing the development of this group, playing our football with confidence, and representing New Zealand with pride.”
All games in the tournament will be played at FFS Football Stadium, and will be available to livestream for free on the OFC YouTube Channel, DAZN, and FIFA+.
