New Zealand squad named for U17 World Cup qualifiers

The New Zealand go squad for the OFC U16 Football Championship this month has been selected.
 
The tournament is set to take place in the Solomon Islands from September 9 to 22 and 20 players have been named.
 
Two places for the 2019 U17 World Cup in Peru are available via Oceania qualifying.

The U-16 group will look to follow in the footsteps of their older counterparts, who have just qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup after winning the OFC U-19 Championship in Tahiti. The path to glory in French Polynesia was far from straightforward though and Figueira, who also coaches Team Wellington in the ISPS Handa Premiership, is expecting a stern examination of his squad’s abilities in Honiara.
 
New Zealand have been drawn in Group A with the hosts, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea while Group B consists of Fiji, New Caledonia, Tahiti and Samoa. The Solomon Islands is known as being the most football-mad nation in the South Pacific and fans regularly flock to Lawson Tama Stadium in their thousands to take in the action.
 
New Zealand open their OFC U-16 Championship campaign against Vanuatu on Sunday 9 September at 11am (NZT) with live coverage available via www.oceaniafootball.com
 
New Zealand squad for OFC U16 Championship 
 
Goalkeepers
Alex Paulsen (Wellington United)
Luca Taylor (Birkenhead United)

Defenders
Max Drake (North Shore United) 
Kris Naicker (Wellington United)
Adam Hillis (Wellington United)
Finn O’Connor (Wellington United)
Nathan Lobo (Birkenhead United)
Harry Bark (North Shore United)

Midfielders
Ryan Verney (Onehunga Sports) 
Campbell Strong (Eastern Suburbs)
Marko Stamenic (Western Suburbs)
Jackson Manuel (Wellington United)
Matthew Garbett (Western Suburbs)
Sean Bright (Western Suburbs)
Ben Old (Wellington United)
Hayden Aish (Western Springs)

Forwards
Henry Hamilton (Wellington United)
Joseph Lee (Wellington United)
Oskar van Hattum (Wellington United)
Bradley Wilson (Western Springs) 
 
Head coach: Jose Figueira
Assistant coach: Sam Wilkinson
Goalkeeping coach: Chris Marsh
Manager: Seamus Marten
Sports scientist: Weijie Lim
Physio: Justin Lopes
 
New Zealand schedule for OFC U-16 Championship

Vanuatu vs New Zealand
Sunday 9 September, 10am (11am NZT) 
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Solomon Islands vs New Zealand
Wednesday 12 September, 3pm (4pm NZT)
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea
Saturday 15 September, 10am (11am NZT) 
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Semi-Finals
Wednesday 19 September
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

Final
Saturday 22 September
Lawson Tama Stadium, Honiara

---