New Zealand Football are pleased to confirm the men’s national team squad for the upcoming fixtures against Jordan (28 January / 29 January NZ) and Uzbekistan (1 February / 2 February NZ), set to be played in the UAE.

The 23-man squad sees the return of players from the A-League Men with Wellington Phoenix’s Clayton Lewis and Tim Payne now available for selection. 

The side also sees forward Logan Rogerson recalled for the first time since 2016 following a successful return to European football with Finland’s FC Haka. 

The All Whites will be looking to continue the good form which saw them win three games from three (against Curaçao, Bahrain and The Gambia) after their return from international hiatus in October 2021 due to not being able to play because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The full squad is:

Stefan Marinovic (27 Caps) Hapoel Nof HaGalil, Israel
Jamie Searle (0 Caps) Swansea City, Wales
Michael Woud (3 Caps) Kyoto Sanga, Japan
Michael Boxall (36 Caps) Minnesota United, USA
Nikko Boxall (3 Caps) San Diego Loyal SC, USA
Francis de Vries (1 Cap) IFK Värnamo, Sweden
Kelvin Kalua (3 Caps) Eastern Suburbs, New Zealand
Tim Payne (20 Caps) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Nando Pijnaker (4 Caps) Rio Ave FC, Portugal
Winston Reid (26 Caps) Unattached
Tommy Smith (41 Caps) Colchester United, England
Bill Tuiloma (27 Caps) Portland Timbers, USA
Dalton Wilkins (0 Caps) Kolding IF, Denmark
Joe Bell (5 Caps) Viking FK, Norway
Clayton Lewis (15 Caps) Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
Sarpreet Singh (8 Caps) SSV Jahn Regensburg (loan from FC Bayern Münich), Germany
Marko Stamenic (3 Caps) FC Copenhagen, Denmark
Joseph Champness (2 Caps) Giresunspor, Turkey
Andre de Jong (6 Caps) AmaZulu FC, South Africa
Elijah Just (5 Caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark
Callum McCowatt (4 Caps) FC Helsingør, Denmark
Logan Rogerson (3 Caps) FC Haka, Finland
Chris Wood (60 Caps) Newcastle United, England

Head Coach Danny Hay is looking forward to getting the side back together as they build towards the OFC FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifying tournament in March:

“It was important to play games in this window so we can build on what we did at the end of last year and continue to develop as a team.

“Knowing some of the difficulties the OFC FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament presents it was important for us to bring in some new faces. It’s great that we can now select from the A-League Men, as well as give opportunities to players in Europe who have had good seasons and just missed out in the spring.

“Both Jordan and Uzbekistan are going to be challenging but this is what we need to develop, especially when you consider the number of young players we have in the squad. We need to continue to test ourselves in games like this on a regular basis as we start what could be a big year for the team.”

The All Whites face Jordan on Friday 28 January 2022 (Saturday 29 January NZ) at New York University Stadium, Abu Dhabi (kick-off 7pm / 4am NZ) and Uzbekistan on Tuesday 1 February 2022 (Wednesday 2 February NZ) at The Sevens Stadium, Dubai (kick-off 7pm / 4am NZ). 

Both games will be broadcast live on Sky Sport NZ. 

Article added: Friday 21 January 2022