The All Whites are ready to begin a new era under Head Coach Fritz Schmid in their international friendly with Canada in Spain on Sunday morning (NZT).

The OFC Nations Cup champions will be in action for the first time since their FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Playoff against Peru last November and are looking to re-build at the start of their next World Cup cycle.

The new-look 24 man squad has trained well this week at the Pinatar Arena in Murcia and Schmid has been pleased by the application of all of his players. 

“From my perspective it has been good to meet the players face and face and get on the pitch where we do our work,” said Schmid, who was named as the new Head Coach at the start of this month.

“We have had some good days and I am really happy with the response of the players. They are committed. It is an interesting and good group. Even though it is a short window it is a good chance to set some benchmarks and pillars.”

Experienced defender Michael Boxall, who for the first time was named in an All Whites squad alongside younger brother Nikko, said it has been good to be back with the national team. 

“It is an exciting new group with a lot of new faces,” said the 29-year-old. “It is a great opportunity for new players to step up. We have had a lot of productive sessions and good meetings on where we want to take this team forward.”

Boxall said the newcomers to the environment – Niko Kirwan, Nikko Boxall, Justin Gulley, Andre De Jong and Sarpreet Singh - have all settled in well and taken on board everything that the staff have thrown at them.

“It feels like any other All Whites squad where it is such a special thing about the national team, it doesn’t matter where you come from, all of the guys fit in well.”

Schmid was coy with how he will approach the international friendly with the World No 89. Both teams will be able to make six substitutes throughout the game and Schmid is focused on getting a win first up. 

“I will always be chasing results,” he said. “Let’s see how the game goes. I will tell you after game [of how I used my players]. You always have to give the players an opportunity to show their quality and what they are capable of. This is in combination with what you expect from the game and where you want to take it. In the long run this is how you establish an idea of your playing style.”

Boxall, who has played 31 A Internationals for New Zealand since making his debut in 2011, said it is up to the core of experienced players to help the newcomers find their feet at the international level.

“There is a massive responsibility on the likes of myself, Brocks [Jeremy Brockie] Mikey [Michael McGlinchey], Marco [Rojas] and Ryan [Thomas]. Even moving forward with a new squad you still want some consistency. It is on us to keep that dynamic going. [On Thursday night] we have a players meeting to discuss how we need to keep the team culture that we have built in the last three or four years which has been fantastic. That responsibility is on us.”

A number of players from the MLS – which does not break for FIFA international windows - are missing this week but Boxall said he was always committed. He had some good conversations with the coaches when he arrived at Minnesota United and they realised how important the national team was to him.

“With Fritz coming in and the new cycle it was very important that we had some experienced guys here who were able to carry on a few traditions from the last cycle going forward. We don’t want all of the progress that we made in the past three or four years just get lost and then we have to start all over again.”

Schmid has spent the week observing and learning about his group of 24 players. He is still to decide who will lead the side in the absence of regular skippers Winston Reid and Chris Wood. 

“If you have a group working together for two – three days, the group takes a certain dynamic. Every individual will show his quality and what is ready to contribute to the group as a whole. In the group of more experienced players there might be one who steps out and takes the lead and that is what I have observed and I am very happy with this. I hope that this might help with the decision of who will be captain on Saturday’s game.”

The match will kick off at 4am Sunday morning (NZT) and All Whites fans can watch the game on a livestream on www.canadasoccer.com. Extended highlights of the game will be available on www.nzfootball.co.nz from around 7am.

All Whites (from): 1. Max Crocombe, 2. Sam Brotherton, 3. Nikko Boxall, 4. Themi Tzimopoulos, 5. Michael Boxall, 6. Tim Payne, 7. Cam Howieson, 8. Michael McGlinchey, 9. Alex Rufer, 10. Jeremy Brockie, 11. Marco Rojas, 12. Michael Woud, 13. Justin Gulley, 14. Andre De Jong, 15. Clayton Lewis, 16. Dane Ingham, 17. Myer Bevan, 18. Matt Ridenton, 19. Tom Doyle, 20. Adam Mitchell, 21. Niko Kirwan. 22. Sarpreet Singh, 23. Nik Tzanev

All Whites v Canada International Friendly
When: 24 March, 2018 kick off time 4pm (4am NZT)
Where: Pinatar Arena, Murcia, Spain
Live stream on www.canadasoccer.com
A highlights package will be available soon after full time on www.nzfootball.co.nz