Wanderer Joesph Banza has been named in Young All White’s Head Coach Martin Bullock’s 23-player squad to participate at the OFC Men’s U-16 Championship
The 23-player squad has been named for the OFC Men’s U-16 Championship, set to take place in Papeete, Tahiti from 29 July NZT.
Head coach Martin Bullock’s side features 17 players based in Aotearoa New Zealand and six playing overseas in Australia, England and Germany.
The winner, runner up and third place from the tournament will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup set to be played in Qatar.
The full squad is:
Pedro Botica – Auckland United, New Zealand
William Britton – Western Springs, New Zealand
Luke Brooke-Smith – Hamilton Wanderers, New Zealand
Hunter Cadman – Northern Rovers, New Zealand
Justin Cardozo Machado – Sydney FC, Australia
Aaron Cartwright – Melbourne City, Australia
Joseph Chalabi – Christchurch United, New Zealand
Ethan Dyer – Sydney FC, Australia
Van Fitzharris – Tauranga City, New Zealand
Joseph Kalume Banza – Western Sydney Wanderers, Australia
Damion Kim – East Coast Bays, New Zealand
Alexander Lienard – Sunderland AFC, England
Nathan Martin – Fencibles United, New Zealand
Joe McIntyre – Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Henry Murfitt – Selwyn United, New Zealand
Daniel Nelson – Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Benjamin Perez Baldoni – Ellerslie AFC, New Zealand
Jack Perniskie – Wellington Phoenix FC, New Zealand
Connor Smith – FC Hennef 05, Germany
Louis Spillane – Western Springs, New Zealand
Rakshan Suresh – Western Suburbs, New Zealand
Luka Vicelich – Auckland City FC, New Zealand
Michael Wong – Auckland United, New Zealand
“It is always exciting to kick off a new age group cycle and I’m really pleased with the squad we have assembled after extensive scouting and identification games” says head coach Martin Bullock.
“We have seen from recent tournaments that the OFC nations are developing really quickly so these are going to be challenging games, especially for this age group were it is your first taste of international football.
“This is a brilliant opportunity for our players to play competitive matches and learn more about what it takes to be successful in the game, so I look forward to working with them to help them achieve their potential.”
Aotearoa New Zealand have been drawn in Group A at the tournament and will play Vanuatu (29 July NZ / 28 July local), Fiji (1 August NZ / 31 July local) and Cook Islands (4 August NZ / 3 August local).
All games will be played at Stade Fautaua, Papeete, Tahiti.